It Doesn't Really Matter
by Morghen
Summary: On hold.
1. Part One: The Train

Regulus had a lot on his mind. He always hated the awkward good-byes when he left for Hogwarts. His mother and father showered him with hugs and kisses but Regulus couldn't remember the last time his parents said "I love you" or "Good-bye" to Sirius. He felt bad for his brother, even though he never would think of showing it. His relationship with his brother was never great, Regulus was always the "favorite" and Sirius was just a let down according to his parents. Regulus hoped that someday he and his brother could be closer but he didn't see it happening in the near future.

He entered the train and walked down the hallway. He slid open the door to an empty compartment. He wasn't in the mood to talk to his friends at the moment but he knew that sooner or later his best friend Aleron Radu, a fellow fifth year Slytherin, would find him and he hoped he would be in a better mood then. He put his trunk away on the overhead luggage rack and sat down on the red leather seats. He really loved going to Hogwarts, it was a nice break away from his family. His only problem was that he still had to follow his family's narrow-minded rules. He didn't really care about who was a Pureblood, Half-Blood, or Muggleborn, but his family sure did. His parents set him strict rules before he left for Hogwarts in his first year, including that he was not allowed to be friends with Muggleborns, or as his parents would say, Mudbloods.

He was so lost in these thoughts that he didn't hear the compartment door slide open.

"Ummm... Do you mind if I, uh, sit here?" said a small looked up.

He had never seen this girl before. She looked about his age with long black hair, sky blue eyes, and a small fragile frame. "Uhh...Sure!"

_"Wow," Regulus thought, "She is pretty cute."_

Not wanting to be rude, Regulus stood up and took her luggage. He put it on the rack beside his.

"Chivalry isn't dead yet," said the girl with a laughed.

Regulus laughed, his laugh was identical to his brother's bark-like one. He held out his hand and said, "Regulus Black. Why haven't we met before?"

"The girl shook his hand. " I'm Aaralyn Doves. I think I've seen you around, you're in Slytherin, right?"

Regulus sat back down and ran his hand through his messy black hair. "Yeah," he said with a grin, "I'm in Slytherin. What house are you in?"

Aaralyn took a seat opposite to Regulus. She was a little nervous about talking to him because of all of the things she'd heard about him, she thought he seemed nice enough though. "I'm in Ravenclaw," she replied.

"Oh," said Regulus. He never really talked to people outside of his house. He usually would not have given a Ravenclaw the time of day but he found Aaralyn intriguing. "What year are you in?"

"I'm in my fifth year. You?"

"Same here."

They sat silent for a little while. Regulus couldn't help but look at her. She had a heart-shaped face that was framed by her long, straight, dark hair. The contrast of her hair and light blue eyes was striking. There was something about her that made him nervous. It wasn't arrogance though, it was more like knowledge. It wasn't like he was shy around good-looking girls, Xyris Avalon had been pursuing him for quite some time. She was really popular and pretty but for some reason Regulus wasn't interested.

"So, do you like Quidditch?" Regulus asked. He always talked about Quidditch when he couldn't think of something else to say.

"Yes," replied Aaralyn, "I go to all of the matches." She blushed, then said, "You're a really good flier."

Regulus looked up at her and smiled. He thought she was quite cute when she blushed. "Ahh, thanks," he said. "It is one of the few things I am good at."

At that moment the trolley rolled to a stop outside their door. An old witch leaned in and asked, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Regulus looked at Aaralyn and then at the old witch and said, "Anything that she wants is on me. I'll have a Chocolate Frog, please."

Aaralyn blushed and said "No, no, I'll pay for mine." She reached into her small blue handbag for her money.

"No, Aaralyn, I insist," Regulus said with a blushed again when he said her name. She didn't usually care for her name but it sounded so nice on his smooth, confident voice.

"Well, if you're sure. I'll have a Chocolate Frog, too, please."

"Here you go, dears," said the witch with a smile, "Have a good day."

Regulus handed the witch the money and passed one of the chocolates to Aaralyn.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that, though," she said shyly.

"It's fine, I don't mind buying a pretty girl something," he said with a grin.

She blushed once again. Regulus was thinking how cute she looked when she blushed as the compartment door slid open.

It was Aleron Radu. He was tall with perfect messy golden hair and forest green eyes. He, like Regulus, was a Pureblood. Unlike Regulus' parents though, his parents didn't overly flaunt their blood status.

He walked in and sat down beside Regulus. He turned to face Aaralyn and his face broke into a grin. He leaned forward to introduce himself, "Hello, there, I'm Aleron Radu."

Aaralyn smiled and took his hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Aaralyn Doves."

Aleron winked at her and said "Doves...Doves, you must be related to the Lestranges!"

Aaralyn's face dropped, she knew that this would come up sooner or later but she was hoping that she could of got to know Regulus better before it did."No," she said slowly, "I'm Muggleborn."


	2. Part Two: It Doesn't Really Matter

Aleron stopped grinning and Regulus looked over at him. They were use to assuming that anyone that they talked to was either a Pureblood or a Half-blood. It has never crossed Regulus' mind that Aaralyn might be a Muggleborn.

_"It doesn't really matter,"_ Regulus said to himself, "_She is still a witch, right?"_

Aaralyn got up and reached for her luggage, she knew better than to hang around with Slytherins but she had hoped that Regulus was different. She could feel the tears coming on and she didn't plan on staying in that compartment much longer.

Regulus looked up, his eyes were a soft grey and he had a confused look on his face. "Where are you going?" he asked slowly.

"Well, I don't think that two Slytherins want anything to do with a Muggleborn, so I'm going to go find a new compartment." She tried to cover the hurt in her voice but she knew that she didn't do a very good job.

"You don't have you leave," Regulus told her, " That is, of course, only if you want to stay."

Aaralyn looked at him. She searched his face for a trace of a grin to see if he was serious or not. All she saw was a handsome face looking up at her. She looked over at Aleron and he nodded in agreement with sat back down in her seat.

Aleron grabbed her trunk and put it back on the rack."I didn't mean to offend you," Aleron told her, "I was sure as hell that one of the Lestranges had mentioned having a cousin with the surname Doves.

"No, it's okay," she said thickly. Try as she might, she couldn't hold back the tears.

Regulus looked at her and was startled to see that she was crying. He made a mental note to yell at Aleron for even bringing up the blood-status topic. He was so sick of hearing about it at home and didn't want to deal with it here either. He got up and sat down beside Aaralyn and awkwardly put his arm around her trying to comfort her. He was not use to comforting people but he decided that this would be a good time to start. He reached down and tilted her chin up then he moved his hand to her cheek and wiped off all of the tears. He leaned closer to her and asked "What's wrong, my Sweet?"

Aaralyn was embarrassed about allowing herself to cry in front of two people that she just met. She felt better, though, when Regulus sat down beside her. "It's nothing," she said, "I've been teased a lot because I'm a Muggleborn."

"Aww, you don't think I would tease you, do you?" Regulus asked, looking down at her.

She smiled, "I wasn't sure since most of the people who did were in Slytherin."

"Don't judge us by how _they_ usually act," said Aleron smirking, "We aren't like _most_ Slytherins."

"I've heard what you guys have done to Muggleborns," Aaralyn said quietly.

"Yes, hun, but you shouldn't believe everything you hear," Aleron said as he sprawled out on his bench seat, "People like to make things up."

Aaralyn looked over at Aleron. He reminded her of a cougar, beautiful and graceful, but also dangerous and cunning. "Are you saying that they are just rumors?"

"I never said _that_, but we are not as bad as people make us out to be. We have our adventures, but they rarely include mocking Muggleborns."

At that moment the compartment door slid open for the fourth time that afternoon. Regulus moved his arm away from Aaralyn's shoulders and looked over to see who it in the doorway was a slim girl with curly ash brown hair. She wore pink glasses that only she could pull off. Aleron sat up and gracefully got to his feet and held out his hand once again and said "Aleron Radu, it's a pleasure to meet you," in a low purr.

The girl walked right past him. He looked taken aback but quickly regained his composure. The girl went up to Aaralyn and pulled her into a hug. "I've been looking all over for you!" she squealed.

"Sorry," said Aaralyn, "I was going to go find you but I got side track."

The girl looked down to see who had made her best friend forget about looking for her. Her eyes met Regulus' and she smiled. "Hi, I'm Fanchon Quincy. I don't believe we've met?"

Regulus smiled at her and said "Regulus Black."

Fanchon turned to face Aleron. She smiled at him and sat down on the same bench but the other side.

Aleron winked at Regulus and scooted closer to Fanchon. He leaned foward and whispered into her ear "I really like your...ummm..." he glanced down at her chest and then looked back at her face, "glasses."

She scowled and pushed him back to his side of the bench. A look of confusion spread over his face. Regulus laughed quietly. He knew that Aleron was not use to being rejected and that he wouldn't stop now until he got what he wanted. Regulus turned his attention back to Aaralyn. She was, too, giggling at the look on Aleron's face. He wanted to put his arm back around her but after watching Aleron just get rejected, he decided against it. Instead, he ran his hand through his already messy hair and happened to brush Aaralyn's hand when he put his down. She gave him a little smile.

"So, are you in the same house as Aaralyn, Fanchon?" asked Aleron, determined to make her talk to him.

"Yes, we both are in Ravenclaw," she replied, tersely.

"Nice, I like them smart," Aleron winked at her and she just rolled her eyes.

It wasn't that she didn't find him attractive, because she did. She just knew that he had already been with a lot of girls. There was no way in the world she would show him any attention, she wouldn't let herself. At that moment, she wished that her self-control was a bit stronger.

As the train rolled to a stop Regulus wished that the ride was just a little longer. He really liked talking to Aaralyn and watching Aleron make a fool of himself. He stood up and grabbed Aaralyn's and his luggage. She reached for it when he sat it down."No, I'll carry it for you," Regulus said. "We can ride in the same carriage, if you'd like?"

Aaralyn smiled and nodded.

Aleron was trying to talk Fanchon into riding in the same carriage as they were."Please," he said, batting his golden eyelashes.

"No, I don't think so. I've already promised to ride with Kaz Brylee."

"Aww, not him. He's a Gryffindor!! Come on, I promise that I won't bug you." He shot her a pleading smile.

"Fine, but only if you promise."

"Great! You can sit in my lap, if you like," Aleron said winking at her.

"Ahh, no. I'll pass on that one."

They made their way off of the train and into the carriage."I always have wondered what pulls these carriages," Aaralyn said, as she looked at the front of the carriage.

"You can't see them?" asked Aleron. "Well, I suppose it's better that you can't."

"Oh, and why is that?" asked Fanchon, challenging him.

"Because the carriages are pulled by thestrals. You can only see them when you have seen death."

"Can you see them, Aleron?"she inquired.

Aleron grinned when she said his name. "Yeah, I've been able to see them since my first year here. I, uhh, watched my sister die when I was eight..."

Fanchon and Aaralyn exchanged looks of shock and sadness. Regulus had heard this story once before and he never asked Aleron about it again since he was not a nosy person and Aleron never pushed the subject.

"I'm sorry," said Aaralyn sadly.

"Aww, it's okay," said Aleron in a voice that was far from okay.

They didn't pursue the subject any further. While they talked about which classes they were taking, Aleron was quiet.

Finally, the carriage stopped and Regulus got up and opened the door. "After you, ladies."


	3. Part Three: The Feast

Regulus held out his hand and helped Aaralyn get out of the carriage. Aleron tired to do the same for Fanchon but she refused his help. They made their way up the stone pavement and into the castle. They went into the Great Hall and had to go their separate ways.

"Well, I guess I'll talk to you later?" Regulus said looking down at Aaralyn.

"Yes, I'd like that," she said smiling. She turned to Fanchon and they linked arms and walked over to the Ravenclaw table.

"She totally digs me," said Aleron, grinning.

Regulus laughed and said "If that's what you call it."

He was heading over to the Slytherin table when he heard a voice yell, "Hey! Reg!"

Regulus halted. There was only one person that he knew who ever called him "Reg." Turning in the direction of the yell, he already knew who was bounding over to him. He was surprised that the person could even see through his grey eyes with all of that shaggy black hair in the way. The person slid to a stop right beside him and said, "Who's your lady friend?"

Regulus sighed, "Why do you care, Sirius?"

Sirius grinned, "Well, you see, a big brother should always know who his kid brother is hanging out with."

Regulus smiled. He rarely had a "normal" conversation with his brother. "Her name is Aaralyn."

Sirius raised his eyebrows and play punched Regulus on the shoulder, "Nice, but isn't she a Muggleborn?"

Regulus knew why Sirius asked him this. It was not because Sirius cared about Aaralyn's blood-status, it was because of their parents. Regulus acted different around his parents to make them proud of him. One of the things that they thought he hated was Muggleborns.

"Uhhh, yeah, she is.... You won't tell Mom and Dad though, will you?"

Sirius shook his head and his long hair went crazy, "Nah, I wouldn't do that. Anyways, a Ravenclaw girl is loads better than any Slytherin girl. I wouldn't tell your parents."

Regulus looked up thankfully. They might not be close but Sirius would never rat him out to anyone. Regulus felt a twinge of guilt since he use to tell on Sirius whenever he had the chance. He also winced when Sirius put emphasis on "your parents." Sirius had moved out last year and was disowned by their parents. "Thanks. I'll see you later?"

"No problem, later." Sirius strolled over to the Gryffindor table. He was the first family member to be sorted that house in a very long time. At times, Regulus felt a little envious of him...

Regulus walked over to the Slytherin table. He sat down in between Severus Snape and Aleron. Everyone went quiet when Professor McGonagall brought out the Sorting Hat. It sang its song and the sorting began. Slytherin got five new students. Regulus found it hard to believe that he was ever that small when he first came to Hogwarts.

The feast began after Professor Dumbledore said his usual speech. Regulus was not very hungry, he put a small piece of turkey and a scoop of potatoes in his plate. He ate a few bites and looked over to the Ravenclaw table. Aaralyn was sitting in between Fanchon and a red-haired girl named Braxie Davin. Regulus caught Aaralyn's eye and winked at her, she waved shyly to back to him. Both Fanchon and Braxie raised their eyebrows and started whispering to Aaralyn.

Once the feast was over, Regulus and Aleron headed down to the Slytherin common room.

"Hey, I have an idea!" said Aleron excitedly.

Regulus looked at him, "Yes?"

"We should take Aaralyn and Fanchon to Hogsmeade for the first trip."

Regulus shook his head, "You seriously think that Fanchon would go anywhere with you? No offense, but it didn't look like she's a real big fan of yours."

"Oh, she likes me, or at least she will soon. I can tell."

Regulus rolled his eyes, "Well, if you can get Fanchon to go with you, I'll ask Aaralyn."

"I'm sure you'll ask her either way," he said with a smirk.

"What do you mean by that?"

Aleron put on his best "Regulus voice" and said, "What's wrong, my Sweet?"

Regulus smiled, pushed Aleron into the dungeon wall, and kept walking.

Aleron ran towards him, rubbing his head. "What was that for?" he asked, acting surprised.

"Haha, sorry. Was I that obvious?"

Aleron thought for a second, "No, not really. I just know you too well."

They reached the common room door and a prefect gave them the password. They opened the door and stepped into the room. It was underground with stone walls. Hanging from the ceiling were round, greenish lamps. They could hear the crackling of the fire over the soft murmur of people whispering.

Regulus said goodnight to Aleron. He headed up the tall, narrow, marble staircase. He turned into the fifth year boy's dormitory. He looked around at the familiar bedroom and smiled. He walked to the third bed on the right and sat down on the soft green and sliver comforter. He had the same one on his bed at home. He opened his trunk and took out his pajamas. He closed the curtains around his four-poster bed and changed. Finally, he slid into bed and fell asleep thinking about those beautiful blue eyes.


	4. Part Four: Classes

Regulus woke up to someone jumping on his bed. Rubbing his eyes and yawning, he sat up. After his eyes were able to focus on the figure that was bouncing on his bed, it did not surprise him at all to find that it was Aleron.

Aleron stopped bouncing and sat down. He had already changed into his school robes, his green and silver tie hung loosely around his neck, like he usually wore it.

"Come on, sleepyhead, you're going to miss breakfast!"

Regulus looked at his gold watch that had emeralds set around its border. It was only six in the morning. "Aleron, what the hell, it's six. I have three hours to get ready."

Aleron grinned and said, "Okay, okay. I was just bored and wanted someone to talk to."

Regulus shook his head and pushed Aleron off of the bed. He opened his trunk and got out his school robes, they were exactly the same as Aleron's. He slipped them on and walked into the common room.

It was empty except for Aleron and two first years. Aleron jumped up and walked over to Regulus, they headed out to the Great Hall for breakfast. As they turned a corner they saw Aaralyn and Fanchon, who were coming down from the Ravenclaw common room.

Aleron ran up behind Fanchon and said "Good morning, Sunshine. Did you miss me?"

Fanchon and Aaralyn turned around. Fanchon rolled her eyes and kept walking to the Great Hall, Aleron followed her.

Regulus went up to Aaralyn. He tucked a piece of hair back behind her ear and said "Good morning, I hope you slept well."

She looked up at him and smiled, "Thank you, I did."

"That's good. I would have slept good too if it wasn't for Aleron feeling the need to jump on my bed at early hours of the morning."

She laughed. "He's quite the character. Fanchon is pretty confused by him."

"Is she?"

"Yes, but don't mention it to Aleron. She can't believe that she finds him interesting. She use to think of him as just another player."

"I wouldn't call him a player. He just...ermm...really likes girls. He is use to girls just falling all over him and since Fanchon hasn't, he seems to be even more interested in her."

She shook her head, "Well, I better go catch up with Fanchon. I'll see you later."

Regulus smiled and said, "Goodbye."

He walked into the Great Hall after Aaralyn. She turned and headed towards the Ravenclaw table. He kept walking since the Slytherin table was at the far left of the Hall. He passed Sirius and his group of friends, known as The Marauders. Sirius nodded at him and kept walking. They didn't talk in front of their friends since he couldn't stand Sirius' friends and his brother felt the same way about his friends. He was happy that he and his brother were talking more often but he didn't expect it to last long. If Sirius found out what he was going to do on Christmas break, he knew that they would probably never talk again.

"Don't think about Christmas break," he said to himself, "There's nothing you can do to stop it now..."

Regulus reached his house table and took a seat on the wooden bench beside Aleron.

"How did it go with Fanchon?" Regulus asked sarcastically.

"It was an improvement," he said with a grin, "she said 'Get lost' after I told her that I refused to leave the Ravenclaw table until she said something to me."

"You're not going to leave her alone, are you?"

"Nope, I'm sticking with her if she likes it or not."

Regulus laughed and helped himself to the eggs and sausages. His appetite was back and he was starving. Professor McGonagall passed each student their class schedules. Regulus tucked his into his pocket so he could look at it after he ate.

Twenty minutes later, he reached into his pocket. He had Potions, History Of Magic, Transfiguration, lunch, a free period, and Care of Magical Creatures on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he had Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, lunch, Herbology, and a free period. He switched schedules with Aleron to compare. The only class that they didn't have together was Care of Magical Creatures since Aleron took Arithmancy.

"Sweet, I love having free periods."

"Yeah, they're great. But you realize that they are suppose to be for studying, not running around the castle?"

Aleron laughed, "You know I don't study."

It was true, Regulus never understood it but Aleron got high grades without ever opening a book. Regulus studied quite often but he was never able to keep up with his best friend's grades.

"Ahh, I'll be right back," Regulus said, distractedly. He hurried over to the Ravenclaw table and slid in between Aaralyn and Fanchon.

He held out his hand and asked "Can I see your schedule?"

Aaralyn took hers out of her pocket and handed it to Regulus. He took it and smiled.

"Awesome, we have Potions, Transfiguration, DADA, Care Of Magical Creatures, and a free period together."

"Oh, good. I thought I might be alone in Care of Magical Creatures because Fanchon is taking Arithmancy instead."

Regulus smiled at the thought of Fanchon stuck with Aleron as partners. "Do you want me to walk you to Potions?"

Aaralyn looked delighted, "I'd like that."

He offered her his hand and they headed out of the Great Hall.

"Do you like Potions?" she asked glancing at Regulus.

"Yeah, it's okay, though, it's not my strongest subject."

"Oh, what is then?"

He chuckled, "It's DADA. How about you?"

Aaralyn considered this for a moment, "I think it would have to be Transfiguration."

"Really? That is one of my weaker subjects. Maybe you could help me with it sometime?"

"That would be fun. I'm pretty sure I can find a spare room to practice the spells in."

Regulus grinned. They reached the Potions classroom and sat down at the same table. Fanchon came over and sat across from Aaralyn. Right before Slughorn arrived, Aleron strolled in and took the seat beside Fanchon. She didn't look too impressed.

"Okay class, settle down and take out your textbooks."

The students all pulled out their books and set them down.

"Very good. Now turn to page ten. Today we are going to make a potion called The Draught Of Peace. Does anyone know what this potion does to the drinker?"

Aleron and a few others raised their hands.

"Yes, ?"

"It relieves anxiety and agitation."

"Very good, ten points to Slytherin."

Aleron grinned and looked over at Fanchon. He stopped grinning when he saw that she looked totally unimpressed.

"The ingredients are in the cupboard. You may begin."

Regulus looked at the ingredients and went to the supply cupboard. He grabbed what he needed and went to work. He carefully put the ingredients in the exact order as the book said to. It was looking good so far. He stirred his potion clockwise eight times and counterclockwise seven times. He read the last two directions and lowered the temperature of the flames. After seven minutes had passed he added hellebore.

"Success," he thought as he watched a silvery vapor rise from his cauldron.

Regulus glanced over to see Aleron's potion. It, too, was emitting silver vapor. That didn't surprise him since Aleron was an excellent potion brewer.

Fanchon looked flustered when the vapor coming from her cauldron was blue.

Aleron leaned closer to her and said, "I can tutor you in Potions, if you'd like?"

"I would rather fail the class than be tutored by you."

He shrugged, "Well, if you change your mind I'll always be happy to help you."

Fanchon looked bemused. She thought at first his offer had nothing to actually do with teaching her Potions. She had barely passed the class last year and could really use a tutor.

"Well, if you mean you'll actually teach me Potions, I'll think about it."

Aleron smirked, "What did you think I wanted to teach you?"

She shook her head and put her textbook into her bag, "Never mind."

Aleron grinned and said, "Oh, and I'm suppose to be the one with a dirty mind? I was just offering innocent Potion lessons."

Fanchon had a faint smile on her face.

Professor Slughorn came over to their table. He examined each of their cauldrons. " and , those are two of the nicest Draughts of Peace that I have seem brewed by fifth years in a long time. Ten points each to Slytherin. Miss Doves, not too bad, I think that you might have stirred yours one time too many. Miss Quincy, better luck next time."

They cleaned their cauldrons and table and headed out. Regulus and Aleron had to go to History of Magic, so they said goodbye to Aaralyn and Fanchon, who were going to Charms.

History of Magic was Regulus' least favorite class. It was taught by a ghost named Professor Binns. He used the same droning, boring voice, that seemed to put Regulus right to sleep instantly, for every lecture. Regulus was determined to take good notes this year. He struggled to stay awake the whole time but he managed. He happily put his notes away when the class was over.

He tapped Aleron on the shoulder to wake up. This was the only class that Aleron did not do good in. It would of probably helped, of course, if he stayed awake for some of it.

"Where to now?" Aleron asked in a sleepy voice. His golden hair was sticking up everywhere. Regulus pointed this out to him and he yawned, stretched cat-like, and then fixed his unruly mane.

"We have Transfiguration with Ravenclaw."

"Nice, Fanchon will sure keep me awake," he said with a wink.

Regulus laughed and they made their way to Professor McGonagall's classroom. Fanchon and Aaralyn were already there. Regulus and Aleron got seats right behind them. Aleron wrote a note, transfigured it into the shape of a heart, and sent it flying to Fanchon. She picked it up, wrote something down, and sent it back. Aleron read it and passed it to Regulus.

Regulus looked down at it and read ""Marry Me?" in Aleron's neat handwriting. He looked at the note Fanchon wrote down and it said, "In your dreams." He laughed and handed it back to Aleron.

Aleron yelled, "I'd marry you in my dreams anytime!" just as Professor McGonagall walked in.

"That's very flattering, , but I'm afraid that I have to say no,' said Professor McGonagall in her strict tone, "Please keep your marriage proposals for a different time than in class."

Aleron turned bright red and threw the note into his bag.

"Today we will be starting Vanishing Spells. They are one of the hardest spells that you will be tested on in your O.W.L."

Each person got a snail to practice on. Aaralyn and Aleron both managed to vanish their snails. Regulus was barely even trying, his mind was on other things.

The bell rang and everyone packed their bags and headed down to lunch.

Regulus held out his hand, "Can I walk you to lunch?"

Aaralyn accepted and took his hand. He thought about how her small hand fit so perfectly in his.

"So, do you need help with the Vanishing Spell homework?" Aaralyn asked, looking up at him.

"Umm, if you don't mind, that'd be great."

"We both have a free period after lunch. I'm sure that I could find a spare classroom."

They reached the Great Hall. Regulus walked with her until they were at the Ravenclaw table.

"Okay," he said, "I think I know the perfect place. We can go after we're done eating."

"Okay."

Regulus let go of her hand and went to find Aleron at the Slytherin table.

"What are you doing with your free period?" asked Aleron.

"Aaralyn's going to help me with Vanishing Spells."

Aleron looked up at him quizzical look, "Wait, you've never had a problem with Transfiguration before..."

Regulus said nothing as he filled his plate with food.


	5. Part Five: The Kiss

Aleron looked at him and then it clicked.

"Oh," he said slowly.

Regulus smirked and kept eating. He shoveled his food into his mouth because he didn't want Aaralyn to have to wait for him. When he was done he wiped his mouth with a silk napkin and got up.

"Well, have fun studying ," said Aleron, smugly.

Regulus smiled and headed towards the Ravenclaw table. He sat in between Aaralyn and a girl that he didn't recognize.

"Hey, I'm ready when you are."

"Okay, I'm almost done with my lunch."

The girl sitting to the right of Regulus turned to face him, "You're Regulus Black, right?"

"I am."

"I'm Wynnie Dalla. My father went to school with your parents."

"Oh, cool." He looked at her. She had white blonde hair in a short, spiky cut with hazel eyes, she reminded him of a pixie. "Well, it's nice to meet you."

She smiled and then turned to talk to Fanchon.

"Okay, I'm done," Aaralyn said, rising from her seat. "Where is the classroom that you were talking about?"

"It's on the second floor. It is a spare room that is always empty."

Regulus picked up his schoolbag and lead the way.

They walked up the staircase until they got to the second floor. He took her hand and led her down a corridor and turned left. There was a single door at the end of a small hallway. They headed towards it. Regulus grabbed the old fashion doorknob and turned it.

The room was small and empty except for a small dark table with matching chairs. Regulus pulled up two chairs to the table and sat down in one. Aaralyn sat down beside him and pulled out a small glass jar with a snail in it from her bag.

"I borrowed it from McGonagall so you could use it to practice on."

"Thanks, I was just wondering what I was suppose to vanish."

"Okay," she sat the snail on the table, "you have to wave your wand, like this, and say 'Evanesco'."

Regulus tried but the snail was still there.

"You didn't wave your wand the right way."

"Well, then how do you do it?" he asked, grinning.

Aaralyn reached out and put her hand over his. She guided his hand through the correct wand movements.

Regulus looked at her. Their eyes met for a moment but Aaralyn turned and pulled her hand away.

"Okay, now try."

He tried again and was unsuccessful. He shook his head, "Ugh, this is hard."

She smiled, "You just need to concentrate. Try again."

He picked up his wand and said "Evanesco." The snail was still making its way across the table.

"You'll get it, try saying the incantation a little slower."

Regulus ran his hand through his hair and pretended to try and focus. "Evanesco." The snail was still on the table.

Aaralyn spent the next thirty minutes trying to teach him the spell. Regulus spent the next thirty minutes trying not to vanish the snail. After what felt like the hundredth time, he made the snail disappear.

"Good job," she said delightfully. She held up her hand to give him a high-five.

"Thanks," said Regulus, putting his hand forward. Their hands met. Instead of moving his hand away, he held onto hers. He slid her chair closer to him with his foot. Then he leaned close to her and whispered in his sleek voice, "You're a really good teacher."

Regulus could feel butterflies fluttering in his stomach as she looked at him. Her bright blue eyes connected with his cold grey ones. He tentatively moved closer, he was afraid she was going to pull away, he was afraid that maybe she didn't like him the way he liked her, he was afraid....

She moved closer and closed the boundary between them, their lips touching.

Regulus felt like he was on fire. A warmth ran from Aaralyn's lips and passed onto his. It was better than he expected. The way her hand fit into his, the way their lips touched, it was beyond perfect.

She slowly pulled away, "I should go..."

"Don't go. Please stay..."

He smiled at her. She looked uncertain.

"Just sit," he said, patting the seat beside his.

She sat down. "Umm, that was...it was...uh..."

Regulus took her hands, "It was nice."

She blushed and then slowly smiled, "Well, it's almost time for Care of Magical Creatures..."

"Oh," he had completely forgot about school, "Okay."

He stood up and grabbed his schoolbag, "Thanks for helping me with Vanishing Spells."

"No problem," she said with a little smile.

"I have to run to my common room, I'll meet you at C.M.C."

"Bye."

"Goodbye."

They walked out of the classroom and to the staircase. Regulus went down the stairs and into the dungeons where his common room was. He said the password and opened the door.

Aleron was lounging on the black leather couch. He smiled when he saw Regulus come in.

"Can you do the Vanishing Spell, now?"

"What? Oh, ummm, yeah. I can."

"Were you ever unable to do it?"

"What do you think?"

"I think," Aleron said, smirking, "that someone is playing dumb to hangout with someone else. "

"And why do you think that?"

"It might have to something to do with watching you vanish that Gryffindor's Charms essay last year."

"Oh, you remember that?"

"I do. So fess up, Regulus. What have you and Miss Doves been doing for the last hour?"

"Studying and stuff."

"Stuff? I see," said Aleron, smirking again.

Regulus went up to his dormitory and grabbed his C.M.C book. He walked back down and stopped before he opened the door.

"You might not want to be late for Arithmancy."

"Why?"

"You wouldn't want to miss a minute that you could be spending near Fanchon, would you?"

"She's taking Arithmancy? Awesome!" He got up and ran to get his schoolbag.

Regulus laughed and shook his head. He headed out of the common room. C.M.C. was out on the grounds. His mind strayed to what happened less than ten minutes ago, as he walked. It was perfect, well, at least he thought so. He reached the grounds and walked over to Aaralyn. She smiled and he gave her a little wave.

Care of Magical Creatures, or C.M.C. , was taught by Professor Kettleburn. He made C.M.C. fun and he was very knowledgeable about magical creatures. This class, they had to draw and label a Bowtruckles. Aaralyn and Regulus shared a Bowtruckle. It was hard to draw it and make it stand still at the same time, so Regulus distracted the Bowtruckle while Aaralyn drew it and she did the same for him.

They gave the drawings to Professor Kettleburn and Regulus walked Aaralyn up to dinner. They talked about how funny the look on Fanchon's face must have been when she saw Aleron walk into the Arithmancy classroom.

They had reached the Great Hall. Regulus leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll talk to you later, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

He walked to the Slytherin table and took a seat next to Aleron.

"How was Arithmancy?"

"It was good. I sat with Fanchon and some girl named Braxie."

"What did Fanchon think about you being there?"

Aleron grinned, "Well, I think she likes me."

"You do?"

"Yup. She didn't tell me to get lost or anything when I sat beside her."

"That's a big step."

"And how about you and the lovely Miss Doves?"

"What about it?"

"You never told me what happened this afternoon."

"Oh. Well, we practiced the spell and that was it." Regulus didn't feel like telling Aleron everything right then.

"That's pretty boring."

Regulus finished eating and went up to the common room. He started his Potions and Transfiguration homework. It was ten o'clock when he finally finished.

He dragged himself up to bed, he was exhausted. He put his books and homework into his schoolbag. He changed into his pajamas and laid down. Falling asleep almost instantly, Regulus had only two things on his mind: Aaralyn Doves and Christmas break.


	6. Part Six: I Told You So

The next few days flew by fast for Regulus. He was trying to keep up with the piles of homework that he had everyday. He was able to get everything done by staying up until 11 p.m., but he refused to fall behind. He was very excited for the weekend. He had Quidditch tryouts on Saturday morning and then he was going to Hogsmeade in the afternoon.

He walked Aaralyn up to dinner after they were finished with C.M.C. They had been spending a lot of time together, mostly studying. When they weren't studying, they talked about everything. He had learned a lot about her in the last few days, like how she was an only child, she didn't know how to swim, and she was afraid of grasshoppers.

Aaralyn told him a lot about Muggles since he had never really talked to one. She tried to explain how electricity worked, how to drive a car, what a television is, and the use of an airplane.

"Why don't they just Apparate or use Floo Powder?" he remembered asking her.

"Muggles don't have that kind of stuff."

"They must have broomsticks, though, right?"

"Only to use to sweep the floor with," she had said, smirking.

"That's crazy."

They had reached the Ravenclaw table. Instead of leaving, Regulus sat down with Aaralyn.

"I feel like eating with you this evening."

"Okay," she smiled. His green and silver uniform stuck out like a sore thumb among the blue and bronze uniforms of the Ravenclaws . "You would have made a great Ravenclaw, you know?"

"Nah," he said smiling, "I'm too bad."

"No you're not," she told him, tapping him on the nose.

"I'll prove it to you," he said with a grin.

Regulus quickly leaned forward and kissed her full on the lips. Everyone at the table went silent. He could hear two distinct wolf-whistles, one coming from the direction of the Slytherin table, Aleron, and the other coming from the Gryffindor table, Sirius.

He pulled away, "I told you so."

She slapped him lightly across the face but then smiled and ruffled his hair.

"I guess I was wrong," she said with a grin.

"I tired to warn you, but you didn't believe me."

She laughed and they started eating. When Regulus was done he leaned his head up against Aaralyn's shoulder and yawned.

"I'm so tired."

"Poor baby," she said, jokingly.

He smiled and sat back up, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Not much, just going to Hogsmeade with Fanchon and Wynnie."

"I was wondering if you wanted to watch my Quidditch tryouts and then go to The Three Broomsticks, or something?"

"That sounds good. Are you trying out for Seeker again?"

"Yep, I've been Seeker since my second year."

"I'll be there to cheer you on, then."

"Good," he said smiling. "Do you want me to walk you to your common room?"

"Sure," she finished eating and held out her hand.

Regulus took it and they started walking.

"What did you say a, ummm, vacshoom cleaner did again?

Aaralyn laughed, "A vacuum cleaner, you mean?"

"Yeah, that."

She explained how a vacuum cleaner worked and why Muggles used them until they reached the Ravenclaw common room, located in one of the towers.

Regulus stopped walking when they came to the door. He put his hand on her cheek and said, "I'll see you tomorrow morning, then?"

"I'll be there to wish you luck."

He smiled, "Well, goodnight."

She looked up at him, "Goodnight."

He leaned down and gave her a kiss.

"Sweet dreams."

Regulus woke up early on Saturday. He changed into jeans and a green tee-shirt since it was the weekend. Aleron was already waiting for him in the common room.

"Are you going to try out for the team?" Regulus questioned him.

"I might as well. I had a good time last year."

Regulus nodded and they left the common room.

He was not very hungry. He always got nervous when it was time to try out or play Quidditch. When Aleron was done eating, they headed out to the Quidditch Pitch. They changed into their green and silver Quidditch robes and grabbed their brooms. They were a little early so they sat down on the benches. They talked about the Quidditch World Cup until Aaralyn and Fanchon arrived.

Regulus wrapped his arms around Aaralyn's waist and pulled her onto his lap then he gave her a kiss.

"I missed you," he whined softly.

"I missed you, too," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Aleron shook his head and turned to Fanchon, who was sitting beside him.

"I missed you," he said, teasingly.

"I can't say that I missed you very much, since I haven't."

"Then why did you come down to watch my tryouts? I think you miss me more than you let on."

"Aaralyn made me come down, I didn't even know you'd be here."

"Excuses, Excuses, just admit it, you missed me," he said, grinning.

She rolled her eyes but Regulus could see a faint smile etched on her face.

The rest of the Slytherins who were trying out for the team arrived. Regulus picked Aaralyn up off from his lap and sat her down on the bench. He kissed her forehead and she wished he good luck. He and Aleron headed out to the Pitch.

The tryouts went well for Regulus and Aleron. Regulus saw the Snitch way before the others did and he caught it with ease. Aleron scored four out of five goals, as did Ryker Klaas, a fellow fifth year. Drazan Vilis, the captain and Keeper, still needed two Chasers so they both made the team.

Regulus walked back over to the benches, after he changed back into his jeans and tee-shirt. Aaralyn jumped up and gave him a kiss and said, "Good job, you're amazing."

"You think so?" he asked, pulling her into a hug.

"I do," she said, resting her head on his chest.

He smiled and patted her head softly, "I have to go grab a few things from my common room then I'll be ready to go to Hogsmeade."

"Meet me in the Entrance Hall," she said, pulling away from Regulus' embrace.

"I'll be right back," he said and he kissed her forehead.


	7. Part Seven: Hogsmeade

Regulus strolled back to the castle. He went into the dungeon and stopped at the entrance to the common room. After giving the password, he pushed the heavy door open. The room was filled with Slytherins, third years and older, getting ready to go to Hogsmeade. He headed up the staircase and into his dormitory. Regulus knelt down at the foot of his bed and opened his trunk.

It was windy out, so he pulled on a sweatshirt with the Slytherin crest on the front, he also took his green and silver scarf and wrapped it around his neck. He moved things around in his trunk, searching for the bag of money that his parents gave him before he left. When he finally found it, he placed it in his pocket and left the dormitory.

Regulus arrived in the Entrance Hall to find Aaralyn, Fanchon, Wynnie, and Aleron waiting. He hurried over, passing a group of giggling Hufflepuffs. One of them stopped him.

"Hey, Regulus. Xyris is looking for you. She asked me to tell you if I saw you," said a short girl with mousy brown hair.

This caught him off guard. Xyris Avalon was a fellow fifth year Slytherin. She had been interested in Regulus last year but he thought she was over him. "Oh, well I'm kind of busy right now...."

"She really wanted to talk with you," she persisted.

"Well, she'll have to do it later, then," he said, getting a little annoyed.

Regulus went and joined his group of friends. He reached for Aaralyn's hand and held it.

"Who was that?" Aaralyn asked curiously.

"It was no one. She was just telling me that Xyris was looking for me."

"Xyris?"

"Yeah, she's just some girl in my year."

"Oh, okay," she said, "Well, are you ready?"

"I am," he said, kissing her head, "Let's go."

They set out for Hogsmeade after being checked by Filch for permission slips. Aleron tried to hold Fanchon's hand but was unsuccessful. Wynnie walked beside Aaralyn, talking animatedly about Zonko's.

They entered the village and headed in the direction of The Three Broomsticks, a popular pub. Before they were able to reach it, Regulus heard the very familiar, "Hey, Reg! Wait!"

Regulus stopped walking and turned around to meet his brother. Sirius was running to catch up, his dark black hair hanging over his eyes and his red and gold scarf whipping behind him in the wind.

He finally reached the group, "Whatcha up to, Reg?"

"Not much. We're just heading to The Three Broomsticks, why?"

"Well, James, Remus, and Peter all got detention for locking Snape in the girl's lavatory and I wanted someone to hangout with."

"You can come with us, if you'd like?"

"That's be great. Are you going to introduce me to these lovely ladies?" he asked, looking at Wynnie.

"This is my brother, Sirius," Regulus said to everyone. "And Sirius, this is Aaralyn Doves, Fanchon Quincy, and Wynnie Dalla."

Sirius shook all of the girls' hands, holding onto Wynnie's slightly longer. He nodded at Aleron.

Regulus knew that Aleron didn't care for Sirius. His friend hadn't liked his brother since he was on the receiving end of one of Sirius' Levicorpus spells, two years ago.

They entered The Three Broomsticks and went to find a seat. Regulus held out a seat for Aaralyn and then slid onto the one beside her. Aleron, of course, grabbed the seat next to Fanchon. This left Sirius sitting by Wynnie, but neither of them looked too upset with these arrangements.

Sirius shook his hair out of his face, exposing his grey eyes. They were the same color of Regulus', but had a warmer, more carefree, look to them.

"So, what does everyone want to drink? I'm buying," Sirius said, as he stood up. "I can see if Madam Rosmerta will sell me Firewhiskey, if you guys want."

"I'll just have a Butterbeer," said Regulus.

The rest of them agreed on Butterbeer.

"Aww, you guys are no fun," Sirius said, jokingly.

He strolled up to the bar to buy the six Butterbeers. Wynnie turned and watched him walk away.

"Your brother is the cutest thing, Regulus," she said, turning back towards the table.

"Nah, Regulus is way cuter," said Aaralyn, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"What do you think, Fanchon?" asked Aleron, with a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"He is pretty cute, sure. But I'm not really one for dark-haired boys."

Aleron relaxed. He put his arm around her shoulders and purred," So, you like blondes?"

She shrugged off his arm, "Yeah, but you're not my type."

"Why?" he asked, curiously.

"I don't go for narcissistic jerks, who think they can get any girl they want just because they're so 'cool' ," she said in an annoyed voice.

Aleron looked at her, "I don't think that...."

"Oh, really? So, what happened to Zuri? Or Saffi? Or even Lavena? You got want you wanted from them and then got rid of them."

Aleron looked hurt, "That's not what happened..."

"Whatever."

Sirius returned with the drinks. He handed one to each of them and then sat down. Everyone thanked him.

"No problem," he said, grinning. "Reg, did you make the Quidditch team this time?"

"Yeah, I'm Seeker again this year."

"That's good. I'll have to watch you sometime, then."

"Sirius, do you play Quidditch?" Wynnie asked.

"Nah, I just go to watch," he replied.

Regulus finished his Butterbeer and leaned his head against Aaralyn's shoulder, he loved the smell of her vanilla shampoo. "Where do you want to go after this?"

"Honeydukes, maybe?"

"Okay, I was going to pick up some candy, anyway."

Sirius turned to Wynnie and smiled coolly, "Do you want to go for a walk? We could go see the Shrieking Shack, if you'd like?"

She answered, "I'd like that."

Sirius stood up and took off his scarf. "Here," he said, putting it around Wynnie's neck, "I wouldn't want you to get cold."

She grinned, "You won't be cold, will you?"

"I shouldn't be," he said, winking at her.

They left The Three Broomsticks, leaving Fanchon, Aleron, Aaralyn, and Regulus at the table.

"He'll be good to her, right? She's had her eye on him for awhile and I don't want her to get hurt," Aaralyn asked Regulus, a little worried.

"Sirius? Oh yeah, he'll be fine," he replied.

"Good," she said, relieved.

When Fanchon and Aleron finished their drinks, they all got up and headed to Honeydukes. Regulus put his arm around Aaralyn and pulled her close to him. Aleron walked on Regulus' right and Fanchon was on Aaralyn's left.

They entered the sweet shop. The smell of chocolate and mint wafted through their noses. The store was crawling with Hogwarts students. They pushed their way in and walked in the direction of the Chocolate Frog display.

A boy pushed his way over to them and tapped Fanchon on the shoulder, "Hey, Fanchon."

Regulus turned and saw Kaz Brylee, the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and Keeper.

"Hi," Fanchon said smiling.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go get a Butterbeer or something with me?"

Aleron stepped forward, "It's a shame," he said, acrimoniously, " but she just had a drink with me."

"I'd love to," Fanchon said, pushing Aleron out of the way.

They left Honeydukes together and headed towards the pub.

Aleron threw the Liquorice Wands that he was holding, on the floor.

"I can't understand why she doesn't like me," he said disconcertingly.

"It's not like you're not trying hard enough," Regulus said.

"I know! Nothing I do is right in her eyes," Aleron said, shaking his head.

"She'll come around sometime," Aaralyn said, patting Aleron's shoulder.

"You think so? Well, I'm going to head back to the castle, I'll see you lovebirds later."

"Later, Aleron," Regulus said.

Aleron headed out of the store and in the direction of Hogwarts.

Regulus ended up buying some Chocolate Frogs for himself, Ice Mice for Aaralyn, and Pepper Imps for Aleron.

"Where to next, my Sweet?"

Aaralyn smiled, "I need to get a few Sugar Quills, so how about Zonko's?"

By the time they were done looking through Zonko's, it was time to head back to the castle. They walked pass Sirius and Wynnie, who were arm in arm. Regulus winked at Sirius and kept walking.

They had almost reached the castle when Regulus heard someone shout, in a cold sneer, "Regulus Black, what are you doing holding hands with such filth?"


	8. Part Eight: Detention

Regulus recognized the voice, he felt a chill go down his spine. He instinctively put Aaralyn behind him as he turned to face the voice.

"What's it to you, Avery?" he asked, his right hand reaching for his wand and his left hand still holding Aaralyn's hand.

"Well, I was just thinking about what your parents would do if they saw you hanging around with a Mudblood," Avery answered.

Regulus pulled out his wand and shouted, "Impedimenta!"

Avery flew backwards a couple of feet, landing on his back and knocking the wind out of him. Regulus let go of Aaralyn's hand and walked up to him.

Standing over Avery, Regulus said lividly, "DO NOT EVER CALL HER A MUDBLOOD!" He kicked him in the face furiously and there was a sickening crunch. "And it's none of your business what my parents do!"

The blow to the face had knocked Avery out cold. Regulus turned around and walked back to Aaralyn. He grabbed her hand and headed for the castle. His face was fuming.

"You didn't have to do that," she said seriously.

"What was I suppose to do?" he asked in a bitter voice. "I couldn't just let him call you what he did."

"It's just a word, Regulus," she replied calmly.

"You don't deserve to be called that," he said looking at her. "I would of used a worse spell, but I didn't want it to hit someone else by accident."

"What did he mean about your parents?" she questioned.

Regulus didn't really want to tell her about his family and their beliefs. "Well," he paused, "they kind of expect me to keep the Black blood line pure...."

"Oh," she said slowly. "What do you think about it?"

"I don't agree with them," he half lied, since his parents thought that he did, "Neither does Sirius."

They didn't talk for the rest of the way to Hogwarts. They entered the Great Hall for dinner and Regulus sat down with Aaralyn at the Ravenclaw table. He put some chicken soup in his bowl but just played with it. His mind was on other things at the moment.

It had never occurred to him that his parents might find out about him and Aaralyn. He didn't doubt that Avery would tell his father, who is a family friend.

"What would I say?" he wondered to himself. "They wouldn't even try to understand. I could lie and say that Avery was just making it all up."

He had never really lied to his parents before. Regulus was always the "good son" and just followed whatever rules they set for him. It was Sirius that rebelled.

Aaralyn put her arm around him and pulled him closer to her. "Are you okay?" she asked him softly.

He smiled and rested his head on her shoulder, "I am now."

"You look upset and your not eating..." she said.

"I'm fine. I'm just not hungry," he said, burying his face in her neck. "Don't worry so much."

She put her hands on his cheeks and moved his face up so that he was looking her in the eyes, "You would tell me if something was wrong, right?"

He kissed her, "Of course I would," he said, hating himself for lying to her. But he couldn't tell her almost any of the things that her bothering him.

"What would she think of me if she knew?" he asked himself. "If she knew about my parents, the way I act around them, or Christmas break?"

Dread filled his stomach, "Don't," he said to himself firmly, "even think about that."

Professor Slughorn put a hand on his shoulder, removing him from these thoughts, "Mr. Black, I need a word with you."

Regulus stood up and followed Slughorn into the Entrance Hall.

", I'm sorry to say this, but I have to give you a week of detention for your little show on the way back to school this evening."

"But Sir," Regulus said, upset, "Avery called Aaralyn a Mudblood! He deserved what I did to him."

"Maybe so, Regulus, but you should have went to a teacher, not hex him and then break his jaw. You'll report to my office everyday, starting tomorrow, at six P.M. until nine P.M. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor."

Regulus walked back into the Great Hall and took his seat beside Aaralyn again.

"What happened?"

Regulus sighed, "I have detention for three hours, everyday, for a week."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, looking concerned.

"It's fine," he told her. "Anyways, it was worth it."

She shook her head and smiled, "Do you want to walk me to my common room?"

"Sure," he said, giving her his hand.

They rose from the table and exited the Great Hall. They talked about what Slughorn might have him do for detention until they reached the common room door.

"I hope you feel better tomorrow," Aaralyn said, pulling Regulus into a tight embrace.

"Thanks, my Sweet."

He kissed her lightly. He went to pull away but Aaralyn smiled and put one hand on his cheek and the other in his hair and brought him back for more, giving him a kiss that made him happy that no one was around to witness it.

She pulled away slowly, "Maybe that will take your mind off of detention and Avery..."

"It sure did," he said, his head spinning. He gave her one last kiss and then said goodbye.

He walked down to the Slytherin common room, planning to do some homework before going to bed. As he opened the door, he ran into no one other than Xyris Avalon.


	9. Part Nine: Xyris

Her green eyes sparkled with mischief when she saw Regulus. She flipped her long, strawberry-blonde hair behind her and approached him.

"Regulus," she voiced. "Long time, no see."

He moved pass her without even looking twice and entered the common room. That angered her, she needed to be looked at. He walked towards the fireplace and sat down in the black leather loveseat. Xyris followed behind him.

"What do you want?" he asked, slightly agitated. He was not in the mood to be bothered with her.

She took a seat next to him, "You know what I want."

He sighed. "Sorry," he said, not actually meaning it, "but I'm kind of with someone."

She fluttered her eyelashes, "Yes, I know, but you two aren't officially together, are you?"

"Well, no. That doesn't mean I'm going to mess around with you, though."

Xyris shook her head and laughed, "You barely even know her. How long have you 'liked' her? A week, maybe?"

"That's not the point," he said, firmly. "I'm still not interested in you, nor was I last year."

She glared at him, "Whatever, but don't come running to me when you two aren't 'together' anymore. I gave you your chance."

"Trust me, I won't," Regulus replied, standing up. He walked across the common room and up the staircase. He wanted to find Aleron because he felt the need to talk to someone. Aleron and Sirius were the only people he could really tell almost anything to.

He pushed open the dormitory door and found Aleron sprawled across his bed, his golden hair a mess, staring off into space.

'Hey," Aleron said, sitting up. "I heard about your little rumble."

Regulus walked over to his bed and sat down.

"Yeah, I couldn't just let him say that about Aaralyn. Avery is such a ....." he finished his sentence with some very creative vocabulary.

"Yeah, he is. What," Aleron stretched and yawned, "did you get for a punishment?"

"Oh, I have to stay with Slughorn for three hours, everyday, for a week."

"That's not to bad for breaking someone's jaw. You could have had to stay with McGonagall."

"Yeah, I know."

"Hey... uhh, never mind," Regulus had wanted to tell Aleron about what was going to happen on Christmas break and ask for advice on what he could do. He decided not to at the last minute because he didn't want to loose Aleron as a friend. There was no one he could talk to about it and it was looming closer and closer.

"What?" inquired Aleron.

"It's nothing, just forget it," he yawned. "I'm going to bed, 'night."

He changed into his green pajamas and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

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The weeks flew by for Regulus. His detentions cut into his homework time and, unfortunately, into his Aaralyn time. Xyris had not bothered him since that day in the common room. It looked like she moved on to Drazan, the Slytherin Quidditch captain. Slughorn had him clean the Potion classroom. Slughorn wanted to make sure that Regulus was not upset with him and asked him numerous times if he still wanted to go to the SlugClub's Christmas party. Regulus told him that he would since he went every year. Aleron was still head-over-heels for Fanchon but the feeling still not mutual. Fanchon had started going out with Kaz Brylee. This bothered Aleron a lot at first but he still only had eyes for her despite the many girls that took interest in him. Sirius was spending all of his spare time with Wynnie. It looked, in Regulus' opinion, that she might be able to tame the unruly Sirius. Aaralyn and him were spending all of the time they could together, which was not too long considering the amount of homework they had and the amount of time they spent studying for O.W.L's. As he expected, a letter came from his parents, asking him if what Avery had told them was true. Regulus lied and wrote back saying that Avery just wanted to get him into trouble. His parents believed him, since they thought that Regulus would never have anything to do with a Muggleborn. Slytherin had won their first match of the season against Hufflepuff 250-100. Regulus had caught the Snitch right underneath the other Seeker's nose.

It was December fifteenth and Regulus was going crazy. He started counting off the days to Christmas break.

"Ten days to go," he thought to himself.

It was a chilly Sunday afternoon. He was heading down from the library to eat lunch. He paused to watch the snowflakes plummeting from the white sky through a small, round window. He started walking again and entered the Great Hall. He saw Aaralyn, she had her long, dusky hair tied up in a ponytail, at the Ravenclaw table. He walked over to her, sat down beside her, and wrapped his arms around her small waist. Burying his face into her neck, he murmured, "I've been thinking about you."

Aaralyn kissed the top of his head, "What have you been doing?"

He sighed softly, "Studying in the library for that D.A.D.A. test tomorrow."

Regulus picked up his head slowly and kissed her on the cheek. He wrapped one arm around her and used the other arm to eat. He scanned the table to see who else was there. Sirius was sitting, snuggled up to Wynnie, a few seats down. Fanchon was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Fanchon?" he asked Aaralyn.

"She's at the Gryffindor table with Kaz."

Regulus glanced behind him and saw the two of them cuddled pretty close together. He turned back around and saw Aleron scowling at them, from the Slytherin table.

They finished eating and left the Great Hall.

"Do you want to go for a walk outside?" Regulus asked Aaralyn.

"Yes, I love the snow. I have to go get my jacket though." She grabbed his hand and led him in the direction of the Ravenclaw common room. They arrived at the top of the stairs and headed for the door.

"I'll wait out here for you," Regulus said, letting go of her hand.

"Why? You can some in if you want to."

"Oh, okay." He had never been inside a different common room before. Aaralyn approached the door and it asked her a question. After she answered it correctly, it swung open.


	10. Part Ten: Snow Angels

Regulus walked through the doorway and looked around. It was an airy, circular room with dark blue carpets and arched windows that were hung with Ravenclaw's house color silks. He looked up at the domed ceiling and saw it was painted with stars. There was a tall, white marble statue of a woman that he recognized as Rowena Ravenclaw. The room was covered in bookcases.

"Wow," Regulus exclaimed, "this is a lot different compared to the Slytherin common room."

"Is it?" Aaralyn said, smiling as he looked around in surprise.

"It is very different. The Slytherin common room in underground, of course, and is not as lofty as this one."

"I'll be right back," she let go of his hand and went up a cloud white staircase.

Regulus looked around and saw that most of the people in the room were staring at him. He awkwardly walked over to a vast picture window on the opposite side of the room. It showed an impressive view of a mountain range caked in snow.

Aaralyn came down the stairs and approached Regulus at the window.

"I'm ready," she told him, pulling a small sapphire colored jacket on and buttoning it up in the front.

Regulus was already wearing a heavy heather grey sweatshirt so he didn't need to get his jacket.

They left the castle and walked into the white, fluffy snow. They went to a small pond and sat down on a small bench that stood beside it. Off in the distance Regulus could see Aleron having a snowball fight with some other Slytherins. His luminous hair was covered in snowflakes, as was his black jacket.

Aleron saw Regulus and turned to wave. As he did, a snowball soared at him, hitting him square smack in the face. He let out a loud roar but then started to laugh.

Regulus smiled and turned towards Aaralyn. Her cheeks were a rosy pink from the cold air. She looked at him and stood up.

"Have you ever made a snow angel?"

"A what?" he had never heard of such a thing.

"A snow angel. Here, let me show you." She walked over to a stretch of snow that had not been trodden on, She lied flat on her back in the snow, held her arms and legs out straight, and then moved them up and down. She finished and called him over, "Can you give me a hand?"

Regulus bounded over, careful not to step on her snow angel, and held out his gloved hand. She grasped it and he pulled her up on her feet.

"See," she said, pointing to the angel shape in the snow, " it looks like an angel. Now it's your turn."

"Nah, I don't think so," he said, shaking his black hair.

"Come on, please. For me?" she said, pouting her lip.

He shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head, "Fine."

Regulus walked over beside Aaralyn's snow angel and reclined in the snow. He copied the arm and leg movements that he watched Aaralyn do before. After he was done, he held up his hand and Aaralyn walked over to help him up, but she slipped on a small patch on ice, landing on top of him.

"Oops," she said, her cheeked turning even pinker.

He grinned and said, "You ruined my snow angel."

She tried to step out of the snow angel without leaving her foot prints but was unsuccessful.

"I'm sorry," she said, once they both were standing up again.

"My masterpiece was brutally stomped on," he teased. "But it's okay, yours was much better, anyways."

They walked back to the snow covered bench and sat down. Regulus brushed the snow out of Aaralyn's long, ivory hair. She looked over at the small pond that was iced over.

"That would be perfect for ice skating."

"What is ice skating?" he asked, curious.

She explained what it was and a puzzled look formed on Regulus' face.

"Why would anyone want to do that? It sounds kind of dangerous."

"It's actually really fun. We should go over Christmas break."

"Oh, yeah. That would be, erm, fun."

"That reminds me," she said," What are you doing for Christmas break?"

"I have to go back to my house in London to spend Christmas with my family."

"Oh, well I live in Folkestone and I could probably take a train or bus so we could see each other."

"Yeah, I'll have to see what's going on. I'd really like that."

"We could go ice skating," she said, smiling.

"That would be a sight to see, a wizard on ice skates," he said, chuckling.

They went back inside the castle, their fingers and toes numb. They had a cup of hot chocolate and then Regulus had to go back to the library to study and Aaralyn had to help Fanchon with her Potion's essay.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, giving him a hug.

He kissed the top of her head, "Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go to Slughorn's Christmas Ball with me this Saturday, with me?"

"Of course I would," she said, her face beaming.

"Okay, good. Well, good night, my Sweet."


	11. Part Eleven: Aleron's Dream Come True

The next four days were a blur for Regulus, dreading Christmas break seemed to make it come quicker. The knot of fear in the pit of his stomach seemed to be growing larger by the hour, it was driving him crazy. He was not getting his homework done on time and he hadn't been able to brew an exceptional potion since the beginning of December. Aleron, Aaralyn, and Sirius were all sensing a change in him and they each asked him at least four times a day if something was wrong or if he was feeling okay. Regulus would lie and tell them that everything was fine, lying seemed to become easier for him as the days went by.

The only thing that seemed to be going right for him was his blooming relationship with Aaralyn. She was like a part of him that he was missing until now. She always knew what to say or what to do to cheer him up. He was eager to go to Slughorn's party with her in two days, the four previous parties he attended without a date.

Aleron was in heaven since Fanchon had broke up with Kaz on Monday and Aleron thought that he might have a chance with her now. He spent hours at a time trying to come up with the best way to ask her to Slughorn's party. He woke Regulus up at untimely hours of the night to ask his opinion on yet another plan to woo Fanchon. Aleron had finally came up with what he thought was the prefect plan this morning and he would not share it with Regulus.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Aleron told Regulus, his green eyes shining, as they got dressed in their school robes.

Regulus watched as Aleron was trying to make his wheat-colored hair look wind-swept like he had saw James Potter do a few days before. Once he was satisfied, he moved away from the small silver mirror and looked for his green and grey tie. When he found it he actually put it on the right way, and not loosely around his neck like usual.

Regulus shook his head and stepped in front of the mirror that Aleron had previously occupied. Staring at his reflection, he noticed that his face was getting paler than it used to be. His once haughty good looks, that made him closely resemble Sirius, were being covered up by a look that he had never noticed on his face before, a combination of fear and exhaustion. He stilled carried a reasonable amount of his inherited Aristocratic features but they were fading. His grey eyes were becoming more lost puppy-like and less arrogant. The only thing that had not changed was his thick black hair, which was another trait that he shared with his brother.

"Hello? Regulus? Are you ready?" Aleron said, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," he said, running a hand though his hair and turning towards the door.

They walked down the set of stairs and into the common room, each lost in their own thoughts. This silence last until they reached the Great Hall. Regulus was about to push his way through the doors, when Aleron stopped him.

"Why don't you sit at the Slytherin table this morning?" he said, with a sly grin spreading across his porcelain face, "So you can have a clear view of the lovely Fanchon."

Regulus raised his eyes brows, understanding that Aleron must be planning on making his move this morning. They pushed the giant wooden doors open and entered. Before he went with Aleron to the Slytherin table, Regulus made his way over to the head of midnight hair at the Ravenclaw table.

"Hey, beautiful," he said as he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, "I'm going to sit with Aleron but I'll see you before it is time to head to class."

Aaralyn tilted her head up to kiss him, "Okay, I'll talk to you in a bit, then."

Regulus kissed her again and then went over to the Slytherin table where Aleron was waiting for him. He sat down beside his best friend, who, for the first time in Regulus' memory, looked extremely nervous. Aleron kept running his hand through his hair, repeatedly, and had not even touched any food.

"Are you going to ask her? She's right over there," Regulus said, pointing in the direction of the curly-haired brunette seated beside Aaralyn.

"Don't point," he said, slapping Regulus' hand down roughly. "I'm waiting for the room to fill up a bit more." His voice was not filled with the sureness that it usually was.

Regulus started to wonder what exactly Aleron was planning to do as he put some food on the plate in front of him. He thought about some different possibilities but none of them fit with why he wanted the Hall to be full.

When the clock struck 7:30 and the Great Hall was at its fullest, Aleron stood up.

"Here goes nothing," he said, trying to keep his voice under control.

"Good luck," Regulus said, winking.

Aleron took a deep breath and then turned around, tripped on his feet, and fell flat on his face. With a sheepish grin, he scrambled to his feet and bounded up to the Staff Table, standing in front of it. The whole school went silent.

Aleron ran his hand through his golden mane and said loudly, in his usual confident voice, "Miss Fanchon Quincy, I want to formally invite you to go to Professor Slughorn's Christmas party with me."

There was a wave of giggles among the students as Aleron waiting at the front of the packed room for an answer. He finally worked up the courage to look at her and saw that her cheeks were as red as a rose from blushing and she was slowly shaking her head no.

"Come on, please? Don't make me start singing up here," Aleron said, regaining his clown-like attitude. "I'll never bother you again if you don't have a good time, I promise," he shot her a pitiful pleading look.

Fanchon looked around, unsure what to do. Aaralyn gave her a little nudge on the elbow and cocked her head in Aleron's direction.

"Alright, I'll go with you. Only," she said, a grin creeping up on her face, "because I did not want to make everyone suffer through your singing."

Aleron beamed, "So you guys don't want to hear me sing? How about just one song?" He started to sing a high pitched opera song.

"That's enough, ," said Dumbledore, grinning. "And please, do not make a habit of announcing your invitations in front of the Staff Table."

Aleron smiled and nodded, "Yes, Sir."


	12. Part Twelve: Tuxedos

Professor Slughorn's party started at 6:30 p.m. and it was already 4:30. Regulus and Aleron were just starting to get ready while most of the others who were going had been ready hours ago. His parties always had a theme, this year it was Winter Wonderland and last year it had been Masquerade. The invitations said that since Winter Wonderland was a Muggle song, they were to dress in Muggle formal wear. Many people had a problem with this but Regulus and Aleron thought that it would be fun. They asked Aaralyn what Muggle men would wear and she helped them pick out tuxedos from a catalog given to them by Slughorn.

Regulus pulled his tuxedo on, it was quite confusing for him so he was glad that it came with directions. Aaralyn had picked out an all white tuxedo with a holiday red tie for him. He felt so awkward in it, he wished that they could of just wore dress robes like last year.

As Regulus straightened out his tie, Aleron walked into the dormitory. Aleron's tux was black, white would have clashed with his golden hair according to Fanchon, with a red undershirt and a silk black tie. He looked as awkward as Regulus felt.

"Why would anyone want to wear one of _these?_ " he asked Regulus, looking down at his suit in disgust. "Robes are so much more comfortable."

"I feel like a penguin and I hate it," Regulus said, grimancing.

Aleron stepped in front of the silver mirror to fix his hair, using the same technique that he had used on Thursday. He spent at least thirty minutes standing there and probably would have been longer if Regulus hadn't pushed him out of the way.

"You hair is fine," Regulus told him as he shoved him away from the mirror. "Fanchon is already going with you so why does it matter?"

"Yes, I realize that but Kaz is going to be there and I can't let him show me up. I think that he is still interested in her," Aleron said, desperately.

Regulus took Aleron's stop in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection. He, luckily, didn't look anything like a penguin but he still preferred his dress robes. He combed his slightly long hair and tried to make it look neat. Unable to do that, he just messed it up with his hand ans pushed his dark bangs off to the side.

By the time they finished getting ready it was 6:00 and they were suppose to meet the girls at 6:10 in the Ravenclaw common room. Aleron had never been to that common room before so Regulus led the way to the tower. They arrived a little early but Wynnie was standing outside the room, waiting for them. She was wearing a strapless, ice blue dress that ruffled below her waist.

"Hey, Aaralyn and Fanchon are still getting ready so they asked me to wait out here for you two," Wynnie told them, warmly.

"Thanks. Are you taking Sirius to the party?" Regulus questioned.

"Yes," she said smiling. "It took me awhile to talk him into it because he doesn't care for Slughorn's parties but he gave in last week. I'm going to meet him in the Entrance Hall."

She turned towards the door and it swung open after she answered the question it had asked her.

There were a few people inside the airy room with dresses and tuxedos on since Slughorn only invited a handful of people from each house. Aleron was looking around in amazement at the difference between this common room and theirs, like Regulus had done previously. Wynnie ushered them over to a white couch that they sank into when they sat down. There was quite a few Ravenclaw girls that were giggling in a group and looking at them. They walked over and sat down on a large couch that was opposite of the one that Regulus and Aleron were sitting on. They all started whispering and giggling some more and then a tall girl with waist blonde hair looked at them and said, "So, who are the lucky girls that are going with you guys?"

Aleron ran with hand through his hair and leaned back, "The beautiful Fanchon Quincy and the lovely Aaralyn Doves."

"I saw you ask Fanchon the other day," said the blonde. "It was really sweet. Are all Slytherin guys like you two?"

Aleron and Regulus both shook their heads and Aleron replied, "Nope, we're two of a kind."

She twirled a piece of her light hair with her fingers, "Well, I think that you should give them lessons, if more guys acted like that the world would be a better place."

Aleron smiled and then looked up at the staircase, his jaw dropping. He nudged with his elbow and nodded his head in that direction. Regulus looked up and his eyes widened.

Aaralyn and Fanchon were coming down the stairs, all ready for the party. Aaralyn wore a red dress that hugged her figure at all the right places. It had halter-top straps, with a back that cut off below her shoulder blades and it flowed right above her knees. Her long black hair was put up in a bun that was tied with a white ribbon. Fanchon wore a pure white dress, that too, was strapless. It flattered her body and pleated over her knees. The red bow around her stomach added some color to the dress. She left her ash brown hair down in spiral curls.

Regulus and Aleron jumped off the couch and bounded over to meet their dates at the other side of the room.

Regulus took Aaralyn's hand, "You look really beautiful." He put his other hand behind her ear and "pulled" out a red rose. "Voilà, just like the Muggle magicians that you told me about."

Aaralyn took the rose and smiled, "Only they didn't use real magic." She kissed him and said," You look too cute in your tux."

Aleron snapped his fingers and a bouquet of lavender roses appeared. He handed then to Fanchon and said sweetly, "You look amazing, you know?"

Fanchon smiled and accepted the roses, "Thank you, you're not too bad yourself."

Aleron offered Fanchon his hand and they followed Regulus and Aaralyn out of the room and up to the party.


	13. Part Thirteen: Winter Wonderland

When they entered the room that the party was being held in, they were amazed. Inside the room there were full sized Pine trees neatly placed all over. Snow, that didn't make things wet when it melted, was falling from the frosty white ceiling. There were ice sculptures of various figures positioned around the room and the dance floor looked like ice but was not slippery when stepped on. The food and drinks were served on an ice table with a fountain of white chocolate in the middle. Off to the side, a wizard photographer was taking pictures of the couples while he was trying to keep the snow off from his camera lens. Almost everything seemed to be crusted in snow or ice.

Professor Slughorn waddled over to their direction when he had spotted them, he was wearing a black tux with a forest green undershirt. His face, rosy from the mead, light up even brighter when he arrived beside them, "Mr. Black, , I'm very glad that you could make it. Miss Quincy, Miss Doves, you both look lovely. If you want to be introduced to anyone just ask because I would be more than happy to."

"Thank you, Professor," Regulus said, politely. He didn't really care about being introduced to anyone, he was here to have fun.

"Do you want to go get our pictures taken?" Regulus asked Aaralyn.

"Sure," she said, smiling. "I love how the pictures move, it is really cool."

"Photos don't move for Muggles?" Aleron asked, like it was the oddest thing that he had ever heard.

Aaralyn chuckled at the look on Aleron's face, "No, they stay still. I was pretty surprised to see that they move here."

"That is so strange, Muggles are weird," he said, teasingly.

They stood in the short line that had formed around the photo booth. When it was their turn, they all walked up on the platform, which was, like everything else, decorated in snow. They all hung their arms around each others' shoulders and smiled, Aleron, of course, stuck his tongue out and gave Regulus bunny ears. Aleron and Fanchon moved off from the platform so Regulus and Aaralyn could have their own pictures. Regulus wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lightly, while Aleron let out his recognizable wolf-whistle. After they were done, Fanchon and Aleron went up for their picture. He carefully put his arm around her waist and looked extremely surprised when she leaned her head on his chest. The photographer told them that they could pick up their pictures from Slughorn the next day, they thanked him and walked away.

"Do you want to dance?" Regulus asked Aaralyn, hopefully.

She nodded her head and together they headed for the dance floor. Aleron and Fanchon had went to the refreshments table and they were now sitting at a small table, talking.

Regulus slipped both arms around her slender waist ans she drapped her arms around his neck. They swayed to the music and talked for quite some time. Aaralyn told him about her plans for Christmas break, which included visiting her relatives, going snow-shoeing(which she explained to him), and going cross-country skiing(she also explained to him.)

"The only part of my vacation that I haven't planned yet is when we are going to see each other and what we are doing to do. Do you have any ideas?" she asked him.

"Well," he said slowly, "I know that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I'll be busy. Probably the three days following that wouldn't be very good either. Thinking about it, I'm actually busy every day after Christmas Eve, how about the 23rd?"

"That would be fine," she said, happily. "What should we do? I could meet you in London, do you know anything to do there?"

Regulus shook his head, "Nope, not really. I've never actually looked around."

"I forgot that you are not a Muggleborn," she said, grinning. She thought for a second and then her face light up, "I've got a great idea, I'll take you out on a traditional Muggle date."

"And what is that, exactly?" he asked, slightly nervous.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she told him, teasingly. "I promise you that you will have fun. Do you trust me?" she asked, looking up at him.

He kissed the top of her head, "Of course I do."

They danced together for a few more songs and then decided to find Aleron and Fanchon and see what they were up to. They went to the table that they had last seen their friends and found the two there. The sight stopped both of them in their tracks, shocked looks plastered on both of their faces. Fanchon was actually laughing at Aleron's jokes and she looked like she was really enjoying herself.

"If they're getting along I don't want to interrupt," Regulus told Aaralyn. She agreed and they went to the food and drink tables. After picking out a few snacks they found a empty table away from Aleron and Fanchon.

"They'd make a cute couple, you know?" Aaralyn told him, with a smile.

"Who?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Aleron and Fanchon," she said, matter-of-factly. "They look good together, she's serious and he's silly, they balance each other out."

Regulus thought this over quickly, but before he could answer, he felt his chair being pushed over closer to Aaralyn's and two people appeared at the other side of the table.

"Did someone say my name?" Sirius asked, sitting down next to Wynnie. He, like his brother, wore an all white tuxedo but he had an ice blue tie on. "What have you two kids been up to?"

"Dancing, we just sat down to eat." Regulus said to him. He had heard so many of Sirius' serious jokes, but they never really got old. He missed hearing them around his house.

"Fun, fun. The white chocolate strawberries are great, you should try them." Sirius looked at Wynnie, "You have some chocolate on you cheek."

"Where?" she asked, wiping off the wrong side.

"Here, let me get it," he leaned forward and licked it off. "There, got it," he said with a goofy smile.

Wynnie blushed furiously and playfully hit him on the shoulder, "You know you could of used a napkin?"

"Yes, but that wouldn't have been half as fun," he said, smiling slyly.

Regulus and Aaralyn looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Wynnie started exchanging Christmas plans with Aaralyn, which reminded Regulus of something he had been meaning to ask Sirius for awhile.

"Hey, what are you doing during vacation?" he questioned his brother.

Sirius stretched and wrapped one of his arms around Wynnie, "I'm going to stay with Prongs- I mean- James and his family."

"I take it you're not going to visit before Christmas, then?" he asked, slightly disappointed.

"I don't have any plans to ever go near Grimmauld Place again, you already know that, Reg. I'll send you your present by owl, though."

Regulus nodded. He didn't really understand why he wanted to see his brother before Christmas, they never hung out during school breaks before. He guessed he just would never get use to Sirius spending his holidays with some other family. "I'll send your present, too," he said, slowly.

Wynnie turned suddenly to Sirius," I love this song! Let's go dance, please?"

"How could I say no to you?" he replied, standing up from his seat. "Talk to you later, Reg." They left the table and made their way to the dance floor.

"I didn't realize that Sirius didn't live with you," Aaralyn said, placing a hand on his leg. "It bothers you a lot."

The last part of what she said was not a question, she could tell by his facial expression that he would give almost anything to have his brother back.

"You could say that, I guess," he said, not really wanting to go in depth on the subject.

She wasn't satisfied with his answer,"When did it happen?"

He didn't answer right away, it seemed like his brother had left ages ago but Regulus could remember the day clearly. "It was last year, during Summer vacation. My parents and him got into a huge fight and he just left. I was mad at him, at first. I didn't understand how he could just leave his family or how he could make my mother cry like that. I understand now, though, my parents are not the easiest person to live with," he finished, staring at the floor. He knew what the next question was going to be and he wasn't totally sure how to answer it.

"That's too bad," she said, sympathetically. "Do you get along with your parents?"

"That is kind of hard to answer," he started. "It is more like I do what they tell me so that they'll be happy. I'd do pretty much anything to make them proud of me. They tell me all of the time that I'm their last hope to bring pride and what not to the Black's family name."

"They should be proud of you," she told him, leaning her head up against his chest. "You're an amazing person."

He gave her a half-hearted smile,"If she only knew," he thought to himself, " how much of a pathetic excuse for a human I am."

They talked a little bit longer and then went and joined Aleron and Fanchon on the dance floor. They all danced until the party was over. Sirius and Wynnie had left awhile ago together like most of the other couples.

Aleron stood in the doorway, talking to Fanchon. "Did you have fun?" he asked, looking at her hopefully.

Fanchon considered this for a few seconds and took a step closer to him. She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. The look of shock on Aleron's face was not something that Regulus would forget in a long time.

"What was that for?" Aleron asked, surprised.

Fanchon shrugged her shoulders and looked up, "Mistletoe," she said, simply, pointing above her head.

He looked up and smiled, "I think I like Mistletoe," he told her with a wink.


	14. Part Fourteen: My Sweet

Regulus breathed in deeply, inhaling the vanilla scent that he was going to miss so much.

"What are you going?" Aaralyn asked him, smiling. She loosened his arms from around her waist so she could see his face better.

He grinned sheepishly," Your hair smells really good, like vanilla."

She shook her head and then placed it back on his shoulder, kissing his neck. "I'm going to miss you."

"I know, I'll miss you too, a lot," he said with a sigh.

She looked up at him, studying his face, "What will you miss about me?"

Regulus paused and pondered this for a moment. _"Well, everything,"_ he thought to himself, _"but that is kind of a lame answer."_ He kissed her lightly and decided on what he was going to say. "I'll miss your beautiful eyes and playing with your hair. I'll miss your hugs and kisses, your cuddles, and your laugh. The way you smile when I do something stupid and the way you talk about our future. But I think, most of all, I'll miss the way your hand fits perfectly into mine."

She gave him a long kiss and then said, "You make it sound longer than twelve days. That was really sweet though, I've never met someone quite like you."

"Well, I remember Aleron clearly warning you that day on the train that we weren't like most Slytherins," he avoided the statement about being longer than twelve days, he wasn't sure that it would only be that long.

Aaralyn laughed and he knew that she was replaying that day on the train. "Has Aleron ever talked to you about his sister dieing?" she questioned.

"Only once, but he just said the same thing that he said to you and Fanchon. I've never asked him about."

"Oh, I was just curious. That would be an awful thing to witness, you know," she said, sadly.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Regulus absently playing with her hair and Aaralyn sitting on his lap.

"Do you want to know what I'll miss the most about you?" she asked him quietly.

"Mhm."

"When you call me 'your Sweet'," she replied, kissing his nose.

"Really?" he asked, a little surprised. He had thought it was just a dumb pet name.

"I'm serious," she paused, "well, I'm not Sirius, but you know what I mean. Most boyfriends say 'babe' or 'baby' or something like that. I've never heard any boy call their girlfriend 'my Sweet'. It's really nice."

His heart skipped a beat when she called him her boyfriend. Sure, they were 'together' but never official. He had always wanted to ask her but he was never sure how to. He kissed her forehead and whispered, "My Sweet, my Sweet, my Sweet." In a normal tone, he said, "That isn't twelve days' worth but it is close."

Aaralyn pouted her lips, "Not even close." She paused and then smiled, "You know what would really make me happy?"

"What, my Sweet?" he responded, purposely using her pet name.

"If you would meet my parents," she said with a hopeful look. "I wrote to them and told them all about you but they sent me a letter yesterday saying that if I wanted to go to London with you, they had to be introduced." She ended by kissing him on the cheek.

Regulus wasn't sure about this, he never had to meet a girl's parents before. "I don't know," he said, hesitantly. "What if they don't like me?"

She draped her arms around his neck, "They'll love you. They're really nice, I promise and it is the only way that they'll let me go tomorrow."

"If it will make you happy, I guess I'll do it," he grumbled. "But what should I say?"

"Thank you," she said, kissing him again. "Trust me, they'll ask all of the questions, they're fascinated with Magic. Since you grew up with it they will love to talk to you. Are your parents picking you up?"

He shook his head, "No, I just walk since my house is only twenty minutes away." His parents were to busy with work and other things to take the time to get him.

"Oh, okay, I was just going to ask if they would want to me me or my parents, but that's fine."

Regulus was suddenly happy that he had to walk because he could not let Aaralyn meet his parents. He had never mentioned her to his family and had no intention to. After all, he had told them that Avery lied about him hanging around a Muggleborn.

He felt the train slowing down to a stop and sighed. He pulled Aaralyn closer and kissed her forehead, then her nose, and then her lips, "I'm going to really miss you."

She pulled him forward for a longer kiss, "I'll miss you to, a lot."

He sighed once again and picked her up off of his lap and carefully set her down. He stood up and stepped over to the luggage rack, taking their trunks down first and then reaching up for his owl, Conant. "Can you grab Conant, please," he asked, pointing to his Eurasian Eagle-Owl.

The massive owl let out a hoot as Aaralyn picked up his cage, "He is so beautiful and really smart, it makes me wish I had an owl."

"He's really funny too, once you get to know him," Regulus said. "I got him as a birthday present when I was six from my parents. He's the best thing they've ever gave me."

They slid open the compartment door and walked down the hall and off from the train. Regulus paused, not knowing what Aaralyn's parents looked like. She looped her arm around his and set off in the direction of a couple, who were obviously Muggles. The woman looked like an older version of Aaralyn, with the same black hair and bright blue eyes. The man was tall with rusty-colored hair and a strong build. They both wore Muggle clothing and looked slightly out of place.

"Aaralyn, Honey, it is great to see you. We've missed you so much," said her mom, with a huge smile.

When they reached the couple Aaralyn easily set Conant down and rushed into her parents' arms, Regulus awkwardly stood their, looking a little bit uncomfortable. Aaralyn pulled out of her parents' embrace and took Regulus' hand, "Mom, Dad, this is Regulus Black."

He shook both of the cheerful adults' hands, "It is very nice to meet you, Mr. and ."

"And you too. We've heard a lot about you from Aaralyn's letters," told him.

He smiled his radiant smile, "Hopefully only good things."

Aaralyn pushed him lightly, "There's nothing bad to say."

"Regulus, do you live in London?" questioned .

"Yes, I do. I have all of my life," he replied, nodding his head.

"Do you guys know what you're doing tomorrow?" asked him.

"Well, since I've never actually explored London, Aaralyn wanted to show me what non-magical teenagers do for fun," Regulus explained. He didn't want to use the word 'Muggle' since he wasn't sure if they knew what it meant.

"You'll both be careful, won't you?"

"Of course, we're going to just go to the mall and then the movies," Aaralyn told her parents. It would still be a surprise to Regulus because she knew that he had no idea what those two places were.

The rest of the time Regulus was asked every possible question that her parents could think of about growing up as a wizard. Aaralyn kept apologizing to him for all of the questions but he enjoyed it. Her parents, Madalyn and Callum, were very friendly and welcoming to him and they decided that it would be fine if their daughter went to London, as long as she was home by nine o'clock.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, giving her a peck on the cheek. "It was really great meeting you, Mr. and ."

"Bye," Aaralyn said, looking a little down.

"It was nice meeting you too, Regulus. You seem like a good kis," told him as smiled.

They left for their car and Regulus picked up Conant's cage in one hand and his trunk, which he had bewitched on the train to be lighter, in the other and started his walk to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.


	15. Part Fifteen: Ice Skating & Cotton Candy

He shivered as he stepped inside his house, Regulus had always thought that this home had a coldness about it. He took off his shoes and coat and left them in the dark entryway. He didn't bother to call out to his parents to let them know he was home since he already knew they weren't there. As he headed up the stairs to his bedroom he heard a familiar croak.

"Master Regulus, welcome home. Are you hungry?"

Regulus stopped going up the stairs and turned around to face the voice. He say Kreacher bowing so lowly that his ears brushed the floor. "Thanks, Keacher. Could you make some tea?"

"Of course, Master," he replied in his bullfrog voice.

Regulus continued up the stairs, his bedroom was at the top of the landing. He reached his door, smiling slightly at the sign that Sirius had carved into his door for him. He turned the sliver knob and pushed the door open. Inside, the room was covered, top to bottom, in emerald and silver. The only part that was not clad in the Slytherin house colors was above his bed where the Black family crest was painted with its motto. Underneath the crest was a collection of newspaper cutouts that he had added to his wall the previous Summer. He was not overly proud of his newly added decor but his parents thought it was great. He pulled his trunk up to the foot of his grand bed and unpacked his clothes, placing them into the set of silver drawers on the other side of the room. Sighing, he left the bedroom and walked back down the staircase, through the dimly light hallway, and down another set of narrow stairs. Kreacher was leaning over the fireplace, prodding the wood and muttering to himself quietly. The tea that Regulus had asked for was already sitting on the gigantic wooden dinner table. He silently sat down in his seat and grabbed the silver crested teacup as he poured some tea into it. He closed his steel-colored eyes as he drank the contents of the small cup. His house elf had always made the best tea, in his opinion, and he missed it very much when he was away at school.

Kreacher stopped tending the fire and bowed again saying, "How is the tea, young Master?"

Regulus lowered the cup from his lips and responded, "It is great, as always."

The elf smiled at him and questioned, "Are you hungry? Kreacher could cook you up something right away, if you'd like."

"No thank you," he told Kreacher, shaking his head.

"You need something to eat, Master Regulus, you look like you're all skin and bones. Let Kreacher make you something."

"Really, I'm fine," he said. Regulus hadn't eaten anything all day but he was not in the mood. All he could think about was Aaralyn and how fast the next two days were going to pass.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

He rose slowly from his bed, moving each of his legs as if it was made of stone. He was so tired, due to the fact that he hadn't slept more than three hours for the past week. Regulus knew his parents were downstairs, in the kitchen, waiting for him. He had retired to his room last night before they had arrived home, so he had not seen them at all. He threw on a pair of wizard robes, not wanting to fight with them about wearing Muggle clothing, and left his bedroom.

Regulus walked into the dark kitchen and took his regular place at the table, Sirius always use to sit across from him. His father, Orion, sat at one end of the table, scanning the Daily Prophet. He bore a strong resemblance to his sons and he could of passed as their older brother when he was younger. His mother, Walburga, was sitting at the other end of the table, eating breakfast. She shared the same haughty good looks as the rest of them, but instead of dark black hair, hers was a light brown. Neither of his parents looked up to welcome him as he joined them at the table.

Kreacher rushed up to him, leaning into a low bow, "Good morning, young Master Regulus, I've made your favorite breakfast."

Regulus shook his head, "Thanks, but I'm not hungry." He still did not feel like eating the omelet and toast that was on the sideboard.

"Regulus eat something now, you are starting to look like a skeleton," said his father in a stern voice.

Regulus knew better than to argue with his father. "Kreacher," he grumbled, "I'll have some toast, I guess."

The house-elf brought two pieces of buttered toast and a cup of tea to him. He thanked the elf and took a small bite out of the toast. When he finished the food on his plate he told his parents that he was leaving for the day.

"Fine," his mother replied. "How much money do you want?"

"Well, I am going to buy a few Christmas presents, so how about twenty five galleons?" He wanted to pay for his and Aaralyn's date and he needed to buy a few thing for Christmas.

"Just take it out of the bank," his father told him, nonchalantly. They were one of the wealthiest wizard families in Britain and Regulus usually got whatever he asked for.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Please don't make me do this," Regulus pleaded to a slim girl standing in front of him. They were at an indoor ice skating rink and Aaralyn had just laced up the black skates on his feet. She was already wearing a pair of white skates in addition to a light blue sweatshirt with the Ravenclaw crest on the front, a pink hat with a small pompom on the top, and a matching pair of gloves. She smiled down at him and she leaned forward, offering him her small gloved hand.

"You'll be fine," she told him for what seemed like the millionth time.

Regulus raised his black gloved hand to hold on to hers. He wore a plain grey hoodie with a Slytherin scarf from his school clothes. "I'm going to die out there, let's do something else," he begged her, trying to make puppy-dog eyes.

She pulled him up to his feet and guided him onto the ice, "Just carefully push off with one foot and then do the same with the other."

He tried, desperately trying not on fall flat on his face. _Aleron would be laughing his head off if he saw this,"_ he said to himself. He held onto Aaralyn's hand tightly as he attempted to skate. He made it about six feet and then he tripped, falling onto his bottom. "See? I suck at this," he told her, his face red from embarrassment.

"Regulus, you are being a baby," she teased, helping him off of the ice. "You're doing great," she said, reassuringly. "Anyways, you look really cute on skates."

A smiled replaced the frown on his face and he tried again to skate.

They stayed for two and a half hours but Regulus never got the hang of skating. He fell so many times that he had lost count after fifty but he could not deny that he had a lot of fun. Aaralyn had tried not to laugh at him but a few times she just couldn't help herself, he usually joined in on the laughter, too. She brought her Muggle camera and snapped a few pictures of him trying to skate and then asked someone to take a few of them skating together.

"Where to next, my Sweet?" he asked Aaralyn as they stepped outside into the cool Winter air.

She squeezed his hand, "I was thinking about going to the mall and then going to Diagon Alley."

Regulus looked confused, "What is a mall?"

"Oh, it is a building with a bunch of different stores inside of it. There are also restaurants so I thought you could try out some Muggle food."

He nodded and smiled at her, "Sounds like fun." He was happy as long as it was not some other crazy Muggle sport like ice skating.

They walked to the mall in less than ten minutes, Aaralyn had chose to go there because it was only a short walk from the ice skating rink. She led him to the main entrance and the door opened automatically, amazing Regulus. "Is that magic?" he asked her in a whispered tone.

She chuckled softly, "No, it is called electricity. I think that I've told you about it before, haven't I?"

He nodded, the look of surprise still plastered on his fair face, "You never told me that it could open doors for people." He moved his head around, looking to see if he could spot the electricity.

Aaralyn laughed again and pulled him inside of the building. The smell of different foods drifted over to them, filling their noses with a sweet aroma. The mall was packed with adults trying to pick up some last minute gifts and teenagers just hanging around. Aaralyn took Regulus' gloves off of his hands and then removed her own gloves and hat, placing them into her purse. She placed her warm hand back into his and started to walk towards the food court. When Regulus didn't walk with her she turned around to see what he was doing.

Regulus stood, in awe, staring at remote control airplanes that were zooming around a small store. He had never seen anything in the Muggle world like that. "That has to be magic," he stated, not looking away from the flying planes.

She shook her head,"Nope, they run on batteries. Come on, let's go and eat, I'm starving."

He took one last look and then followed Aaralyn. She brought him up to a food stand and ordered for him since he did not know what half of the food was. They sat down at a small, two chair table and she put his plate down in front of him.

"What is it?" he asked, looking down at the strange food.

"It's called pizza, you'll like it."

"What's on it?" he questioned, looking at the circular black things on top of the pizza.

"They're called black olives, they are really tasty," she told him.

He watched Aaralyn pick up her slice by the top and copied her, slowly moving it towards his mouth. He bit a small piece off at the tip and carefully chewed it. An expression of delight crossed his face as he swallowed, "That is the most amazing, but slightly weird, piece of food I've tasted in a long time."

"See, I told you that you'd like it," she said with a smug grin. "Try the drink, I think you'll like that, too."

He chewed one more bite of pizza and then he sipped the drink through a straw. "It's all bubbly and orange-ish at the same time," he said, amazed.

"It is called orange soda or pop, it matters who you are talking to," she told him, taking a drink of hers.

They both finished their pizza and got up from the table.

"I want you to try one more thing," Aaralyn said, taking his hand and bringing him to a candy stand. He looked at all of the candy but he didn't recognize anything that they were selling.

"One bag of cotton candy, please," Aaralyn took the bag and handed some money to the worker. She opened it and tore a piece from the clump. Then she put her hand towards Regulus' mouth and he took a small bite of the blue and pink candy. "Do you like it? A lot of people say that it is too sweet."

"It is sweet, but not as sweet as you, my Sweet," he said, kissing her soft lips.

"That was really cheesy, you know?" she said, a smile playing on her face.

"Yeah, I know," he said, sticking out his tongue. "I'm going to get a bag for Aleron, he'll love this stuff," he told her, turning back to the candy stand.

They stayed at the mall for a few hours, Regulus really enjoyed looking at all of the Muggle gadgets and Aaralyn happily explained to him what each one did. They ended up leaving when he went to pull the fire alarm and was stopped by a very frantic looking Aaralyn.

They entered the Leaky Cauldron and headed straight for the back of the pub, not stopping to talk to anyone. He took out his wand and tapped the bricks counter-clockwise, causing a door to form. He opened it for Aaralyn and then stepped in after her.

Diagon Alley was swarming with people coming in and out of the shops that lined the street. Regulus wrapped his arm tightly around Aaralyn's waist and pulled her close to him. He suddenly had an idea, "Do you want part of your Christmas present now? Or would you rather have me send it all to you on Christmas Day?"

She thought this over slowly, "What would you like?" She couldn't decide whether it would be better or not.

"Well, if you pick it out, you'll be able to choose the one that you want. I guess that would be for the best. I still want it to be a surprise though, so close your eyes," he decided, standing behind her and placing both of his hands over her blue eyes.

"Oooo," she giggled, "I'm really excited."

He smiled at her even though she couldn't see him. It was the first time he had ever heard her giggle. He put his lips up to her ear and whispered, "You sound so cute when you giggle."

Aaralyn smiled and he started to guide her through the crowed road. "Are we almost there?" she asked him, like a small child on a long car ride.

He nodded his head and then remembered that she couldn't see him, "Yes, just a few more steps," he opened a door," okay, you can open them."

He could feel her eyes blink against his hand and he slowly moved them away, exposing Eeylops Owl Emporium.

"You're going to get me an owl?" she turned and looked at him.

Regulus grinned sheepishly, running his hand through his hair nervously, "Well, you said on the train how much you liked Conant, so I thought you might want an owl. Is it okay?" he asked, suddenly unsure of his gift. "I can get you something else. I should of asked if-"

She kissed him and stopped his nervous babbling, "I've always wanted an owl, it is a perfect present."

He smiled and held her hand in his. "Do you want to pick one out?" he asked her, looking around the room covered in cages.

She took her time, looking at each of the hundred's of birds. She considered an Eurasian Eagle-Owl, like Conant, but was won over by a wise looking female Verreaux's Eagle-Owl. Regulus paid for it at the counter and they left the store. Aaralyn cooed at the creature and then looked up at Regulus and asked, "Do you want to name her?"

"Are you sure?" he asked, taken by surprise. He thought that most girls liked to name pets.

"Yes, it would mean a lot to me if you named her," she said, reaching for his hand.

"How about Walter?" he said, in a joking voice.

"Noooo," she said, leaning against him, "be serious about it."

He grinned, "I hate to break it to you, Aaralyn, but I'm Regulus, not Sirius."

She pushed him playfully, "I know who you are," she said, smiling. "Please, pick out a good name for her," she said, pouting her bottom lip.

"Okay, okay, let me think," he told her, looking up in the sky. "Let me see, how about Linette? It means bird, I think."

"I love it," she said, kissing his cheek.

They spent the rest of the day walking around Diagon Alley, scanning the shops and talking with friends. Regulus bought Christmas presents for Aleron and Sirius and Aaralyn picked something up for Fanchon and Wynnie. When he glanced at his watch and saw that it was almost time for Aaralyn to go to the Leaky Cauldron and use Floo Powder to get home, he felt very upset. They walked over to a small bench and she placed Linette on one side. Regulus scooped Aaralyn up and sat on the other side. He buried his face in her neck, kissing it, and then whispered, "I'm going to miss you so much."

She wrapped one arm around him and played with his hair with the other one, "I'm going to miss you, too. I'll be able to send you letters, now, that will be good."

He kissed her lightly, "That was the point," he said with a grin.

She held his gaze, "Will you write to me everyday? I don't care if it is just a few words, I want to hear from you."

He nodded and she kissed him, "I'll write to you at least once a day,everyday. You promise to write back?"

She messed up his hair, "Of course I will." A sad look crossed her face, "I better get going."

He pulled his arms around her and kissed her again. He put his face in her hair and inhaled deeply, savoring the scent. "Goodbye, my Sweet."


	16. Part Sixteen: Marked

"There," he said as he added the finishing touches to the other part of Aaralyn's gift. He was not sure what to get her at first, so he went out that afternoon to Diagon Alley and bought a heart-shaped golden locket. He had it customized so that on the outside of the front it had the words 'My Sweet.' Inside of it, he placed the picture from Slughorn's party of Aaralyn and him on one side and on the other a picture that Aleron had taken of them. The second picture was pretty funny since Regulus did not realize at the time that he was getting his picture taken as he reenacted the way The Weird Sister's guitarist played, using an imaginary guitar, as Aaralyn laughed at him. Regulus put the necklace into a small blue box and wrapped it with shiny gold wrapping paper, finishing it off with a green bow. Then, he went to his trunk and got out a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink. He sat down at a small wooden desk and wrote:

_Dear Aaralyn,_

_I hope that you have a great Christmas. I'm sending the other part of your present but please, do not open it until tomorrow! I know that I just saw you yesterday but I still miss you like crazy._

_Hugs and Kisses, Regulus Black_

He rolled up the letter and tied it and the gift to Conant's leg. "Bring this to Aaralyn," he told his massive bird, as he scratched its head.

Regulus woke up the next morning to four owls standing on the end of his mattress. He recognized all four of them, Conant, Linette, Aleron's owl, and Sirius' owl. Each of them, except for Conant, had a package tied on its leg. He reached for Linette and untied the box attached to her. He slowly unwrapped the green paper and opened the package. Inside, it had a gingerbread man cookie, a pair of green and silver Seeker gloves, a clear ring, and a note. He picked up the note and read it:

_Dear Regulus,_

_I hope that you like your present. I made the cookie this morning, it is called a gingerbread man, Muggles make them around Christmas time. I really like the ring because if you place it on your ring finger(I have the matching one) it will turn blue when I think of you and mine will turn blue when you think of me. The deeper the shade of blue, the more you're thinking of me. If it turns black that means whatever we had is over forever. Red means that I am or you are(your ring will glow if I am and mine will if you are) truly in love. I'm not sure if they actually work but they seemed interesting. I miss you more than I thought I would, or even could. Write back to me soon._

_Your Sweet, Aaralyn_

Regulus smiled and grabbed the clear ring, putting it on his ring finger. It turned from transparent to a light shade of blue, making him smile again.

He opened Aleron's present next, it turned out to be a box of Cauldron Cakes and a bunch of items from Zonko's Joke Shop. He had sent Aleron a bag of cotton candy and a broom service kit.

As he reached for Sirius' gift, he thought hard about what it could be. He wasn't sure what his brother would send to him, last year they had not exchanged presents at all. Regulus decided that it was probably things from Zonko's, like Aleron's. He unwrapped the box and was surprised to find a mirror and a letter. He picked up the letter and it said:

_To my dearest(sarcasm) kid brother,_

_I did not know what to send you and then my brilliant pal, James, suggested this, so I had another one made to connect to my mirror. It is a two-way mirror, they are dead useful, I usually talk through mine when I have detention. All you have to do is raise the mirror to your face and say 'Sirius', it is seriously that easy, bad joke, I know. Anyway, just say my name and it will connect to mine so we can talk._

_Enjoy, from your older and much wiser brother, Sirius_.

Regulus was extremely happy with this, he wanted to try it right away but decided against it. Sirius was probably at breakfast with the Potters and he did not want to disturb him. He gave Sirius a heavy red and gold sweatshirt with the Gryffindor lion on the front, he had heard his brother talking about it at school.

He got out his writing things, he wanted to write to Aaralyn now because he knew that he would not be up to it later.

_My Sweet,_

_"Your beauty radiates  
Just like the sun.  
When I'm around you,  
I tend to loose my breath"-Chiodos_

_I realize that was really sappy and what not but I truly miss you. Thank you so much for the gifts, my favorite is the ring, of course. I've decided that Muggles have pretty tasty recipes. If your ring is not the deepest shade of blue then I think that it is broken._

_Yours truly, Regulus._

* * *

"Go get ready, Regulus, it is almost time," Orion told his son, in what sounded like a proud voice.

"Yes, Father," he said, feeling extremely sick to his stomach. He was minutes away from getting what his parents called their Christmas gift to him. His body shook as he walked up the staircase and into his room. He didn't want to do this, it was going to ruin everything that he ever wanted with life. His hands trembled as he pulled on a set of plain black robes and then he could barely tie his shoes. He felt lightheaded as he went back down the stairs and met his parents, who were waiting at the front door. His father tightly grasped his arm and turned to Apparated. The usually horrible feeling of Side-Along Apparation did not bother Regulus the slightest, he had other things to worry about.

He landed roughly on his cousin Bellatrix's grass-less front yard. He had to force his legs to move forward and follow his parents to the house. The home was constructed of black bricks and was a bit smaller than his own house, looking only to be two stories. There were no lights coming from the windows, making the building look empty but Regulus knew that there were three people in it, waiting. His father reached his hand forward and rapped on the door once.

"Come in," said a voice that Regulus knew as his cousin's.

The door opened and Regulus and his parents stepped into the dim room. Inside, it did not look like the house was ever lived in, the only things in the ground floor, that he could see, were one long mahogany table and six matching chairs, three of which were all ready filled. He felt his eyes widen in a mix of shock and fear when he looked at the person seated at the end of the table. Voldemort turned and stared at him, reminding Regulus of a snake.

"Sit here, Regulus," Voldemort said, his hand resting on the back of the chair sitting beside him. His voice sent shivers of fear up Regulus' spine, but he obeyed.

"Yes, my Lord," Regulus said, trying to keep his voice steady. He sat down and his parents followed behind him, taking seats opposite of Bellatrix and her husband, Rodolphus. He urged himself to calm down, he tried to tell himself that this was for the best and that his parents would be so proud. Regulus couldn't believe himself, though, he knew that this was wrong.

"Now Regulus, I have to tell you a few things," Voldemort said, in his cold voice. "You understand that there is no turning back? Once you have been Marked you are a servant of mine and must obey my commands until your death. You are the youngest person that I have ever Marked and I just want to make sure you understand the rules."

"Yes, my Lord, I would never turn my back on you. I want to support you in the war against the filth," he stumbled on this word, " that is plaguing the blood of wizards."

"Then give me your arm, child," he commanded Regulus, reaching forward with his spider-like fingers.

Regulus closed his eyes tightly and lifted his arm. He let out a low gasp as Voldemort's cold hand closed around his limb. He could feel Voldemort's fingers tracing the skin of his left forearm, he just kept his eyes shut and leaned back in his seat.

"There, perfect," muttered Voldemort and he lifted his wand.

Regulus held his breath as the wand poked his arm.

"One.... Two.... Three...."

His arm felt as though it had caught on fire, the pain spread up his forearm and moved on to the rest of his body. Regulus screamed out in sheer agony but it only got worse. He tried to pull away but he found that he could not move a muscle below his neck, it was as though he was paralyzed. He faintly heard Bellatrix's evil cackle and then it was pushed out of his mind as he felt as if someone was repeatedly driving knives into his left arm. Regulus felt the tears pouring out of his eyes as he gasped for a breath but only to have it forced out as he screamed again. All of a sudden the fire stopped and was replaced with ice, causing him to tremble harder, he could feel a numbness spreading through him, starting at his fingers. He cried out for mercy, "STOP IT! PLEASE, STOP. OH GOD, PLEASE!" but the pain increased and his ears were filled once again with his cousin's laughter. There was a sharp shock of pain, more intense than anything he had ever felt, it ran through his body, lasting ten seconds but seeming to last forever. And then it was gone. Regulus choked on his tears and tried to catch his breath, his head was spinning. He glanced down at his forearm, seeing the snake and the skull, and then passed out.

**Lyrics in Regulus' letter to Aaralyn belong to the band Chiodos!**


	17. Part Seventeen: Letters & Heartbreaks

He woke up, moaning lowly as sharp stabs of pain traveled through his arm. He didn't want to look at it, it made him sick just thinking about, so he felt a small sense of relief when he saw that his arm was wrapped in white bandages. Wincing, he reached for his writing materials.

_My sweetest Sweet,_

_"I'll just take a deep breath and I'll look in your eyes,_  
_This is how I feel and it's so real."-Boys Like Girls._

_I've been thinking about you tons and tons. I hope that you are having a good vacation. Whenever I see that my ring is glowing blue I smile, it really was the perfect gift. I miss you and can't wait to see you._

_Your dearest, Regulus._

* * *

Regulus awoke in terrible pain, his arm felt like a pincushion with thousands of needs sticking out of it. Kreacher had removed the bandages last night and cleaned it up. Much to Regulus' distress, Kreacher would not re-wrap it and said that it would heal better if it could air out.

_To the lovely Aaralyn Doves,_

_"I screamed 'from my eyes flow compassion for you!'_  
_Hoping words could move you." -Chiodos_

_Have fun skiing(that is what you do at a ski house, right?) Of course I would love a Muggle picture of you skiing, it sounds interesting. Be careful though, going down a mountain with slippery things strapped to your feet sounds quite dangerous. I've been sick so I have not done much, it is nothing too major._

_Write back when you're free, Regulus A. Black._

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

_Dear Miss Aaralyn,_

_"Just me and you,_  
_With the world in our hands,_  
_With the world in our hands."- Chiodos_

_You look so cute in that picture, thanks for sending it. I thought that you said people ski down mountains but by the looks of the photo you were on flat ground? Thank you, I'm not really feeling much better but I should be fine by the time school comes around. I've been staying around my room, my house-elf, Kreacher, brings up my food and stuff. Nothing too exciting._

_Thinking of you, Regulus Black._

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

_Miss Doves,_

_"Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors."-Boys Like Girls._

_Oh, I understand, there are two different ways to ski. It makes sense now, thank you. I'm serious (well I'm actually Regulus but that is a different story haha) about you looking cute in your snow gear. You look nothing like a snowman, I promise. I'm glad you're having a good vacation but I wish I could see you. I miss you bundles and bundles. No, I'm not feeling that much better but at least I can get out of my bed to eat. My parents have been gone a lot, so it is just Kreacher and me._

_With love, Regulus Black._

* * *

_To my Sweet,_

_"When you touch me, I know there is purpose in my life,_  
_Just know I'm all yours." -The Scene Aesthetic._

_I know, only four more days until I see you. I swear, I'm fine now, don't get all worried. I feel quite a bit better, I'm not in as much pain now. That is really too bad that you had to leave your ski house early. I hope your grandmother is okay, keep my updated, she sounds like a wonderful person. My cousin and her friends came over yesterday, so it is not like I'm always with just Kreacher, you worry way too much. They are coming back over today for dinner, Kreacher is making a turkey._

_Miss you tons and tons, Regulus._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

_Dear Beautiful,_

_"I guess you could say that you're like the sun_  
_That breaks through all my rainy days." -The Scene Aesthetic._

_Happy New Year._

_From, Regulus Black_

He didn't know what to say to her, was he even worthy of writing to her? Regulus wasn't sure but he knew that he was the scum of the earth. That family was innocent and he could not believe what his orders had said to do. That child was so young and afraid. The thought of it brought vomit to Regulus' mouth and he threw up, once again, in his waste basket. Their screams played over and over again in his head, forcing him to relive the moment when the green light flashed out of the tip of his wand and the small child crumpled to the cold floor.

* * *

_Dear Aaralyn,_

_"I wasn't even ready to say goodbye,_  
_It seemed like that kiss lasted forever._  
_But it didn't last long enough,_  
_You are the hope that resides in me." -Broadway._

_Nothing is wrong, I assure you._

_See you soon, Regulus._

* * *

_Dear Dreamer,_

_"Come close, and I will carry you,_  
_Come close, in my arms." -Saosin_

_I'll talk to you tomorrow, my Sweet._

_Your Dreamer, Regulus A. Black._

How could he face her? How could he face anyone? He hadn't decided.

* * *

_To Miss Aaralyn Doves,_

_"Shadows dance around me as I race alone_  
_I will never rest until she's in my arms_  
_So close and yet so far away..." -Alesana._

_I'll meet you in compartment 50._

_Goodbye, Regulus B._

He sent the letter as soon as he woke up because he didn't want Conant to miss Aaralyn. He was not sure what he was going to tell her, he wanted to be honest. The problem with that was he did not think that she would want anything to do with with, he really did not blame her. She deserved better than him but it did not make it any easier.

The Mark on his arm was a dark black, making it very visible. Bruising surrounded it, running up and down the length of his arm. It was extremely tender to the touch and one small bump could send him howling in pain. he put on a loose blue sweatshirt, making sure the sleeve covered the Mark and bruising, and a pair of black jeans. His trunk was already packed, thanks to Kreacher, so all Regulus had to do was wait.

* * *

He pushed the door open to the small black car, stepping out onto the cement walkway. His parents had rented a Ministry car to bring him to the train station, they were too busy to bother and he could not drag his trunk for long distances without irritating his arm. The harsh wind whipped his dark hair into his face as he removed his trunk from the back of the car. He reached into the back seat for Conant and then slammed the door shut.

When he entered Platform 9 3/4 he found it very crowded. There were families everywhere, saying their goodbyes, some were crying and others were exchanging embraces but all of them were together. This made Regulus suddenly feel very lonely and distanced from everyone else. He had made the ultimate sacrifice to make his parents proud of him and yet, they did not even come to see him off on the train. Thinking about it, he remembered that they did not even bother saying goodbye to him this morning. He shook his head and boarded onto the train, walking straight pass everyone and to compartment 50. He let out a small sigh of relief when he saw that no one occupied the compartment. He needed to get his mind settled before he could hold an actual conversation with Aaralyn. He hoisted his trunk up onto the luggage rack and then placed Conant beside it. Regulus sat down onto the cushioned bench seat and thought about what he should say to her. It was difficult because she meant a lot to him, but he wanted her to be happy and she would never be truly happy with him.

The compartment door slid open and there she was, her long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing a thin, purple v-neck shirt and light blue skinny jeans. Regulus rose to his feet and stared at her, slightly awkwardly. She held his gaze, taking in everything, from his loss of weight to the dark circles that were around his eyes making him look like he had not slept in weeks. Her face broke into a wide smile and she flung herself at him. The force knocked Regulus backwards into his seat.

She tightened both arms around him, kissing his lips, then his nose, and then his neck. She placed one knee on each side of him to steady herself as she took her hands, placing one on his neck and the other in his hair. "I think I might of missed you a little bit," she said with a nervous grin.

He didn't say anything to her, his face, unlike hers, had an expression of great sorrow on it. He had no idea what he should do, he wanted to kiss her back and hold her like before but he did not think he could.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concern etched upon her smooth face.

"Nothing," he murmured lowly, looking away from her.

"Something is wrong," Aaralyn said, scrunching her brow. "You've been acting different, your letters became really short, and now you won't even kiss me. Tell me Regulus, what is a matter?" She moved over to the seat opposite, he wanted to stop her but he didn't.

Regulus stared at the floor and murmured," I don't think we should be together." Each word killed him as he forced them from his mouth, he didn't know what else he could do.

Aaralyn's sapphire eyes widened slightly and she bit her bottom lip. "Why?" she asked, her voice full of hurt.

He shook his head, still unable to look her in the eyes, "I can't tell you."

Her eyes started to water and she quickly wiped away the tears. She took a deep breath and questioned, "Is it another girl? Xyris? We can try and work this out..."

His head snapped up and revealed to her that he had tears in his eyes too. "No," he replied, shocked. "It is nothing like that."

"Then why, Regulus? Just tell me why, I think I deserve that much."

He gulped, "Do you really want to know? You will never be able to look at me the same way and will more than likely hate me." He thought that if she hated him maybe it would be easier for both of them.

She folded her arms on her chest and said quietly, "Regulus, I could never hate you, I promise."

He chuckled softly, not because he thought that it was funny but because he knew that she would have to hate him after he told her the truth. "I won't hold you to your promise because I don't see how you couldn't feel anything for me except hate. I even hate myself." He closed his eyes shut, leaned his head back, and held out his left arm, "Lift the sleeve."

**NONE OF THE SONG LYRICS IN THE LETTERS BELONG TO ME. THEY BELONG TO THE BAND THAT IS SAID AFTER THE LYRICS!!!!**


	18. Part Eighteen: Forever?

She didn't question him and slid forward in her seat so she could reach him. Regulus held his breath as he felt her delicate fingers wrap around his wrist and her other hand clasp the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Pain shot up his arm from the light pressure Aaralyn put on it, causing him to wince. "What are you waiting for?" he asked, his voice cold and emotionless.

Aaralyn didn't reply, instead she quickly pushed the sleeve up his arm, exposing the Mark and the horrible bruising. She gasped and one hand flew up to her mouth. The other hand, to Regulus' surprise, still remained clutching his wrist. "No..." she whispered, tears falling down her porcelain cheeks.

He felt his face get hot and tears started to run from his eyes. He avoided Aaralyn's gaze, he was embarrassed of what he had showed her. Regulus left his wrist in her hold because he knew that it would be the last time that he would feel her touch. "I'm sorry." The words felt heavy on his tongue as he mumbled them.

Aaralyn wiped her eyes with her free hand and said thickly,"Why did you do it?"

He looked down at the floor and shook his head, "I didn't have a choice, I thought that it would make my parents proud of me...for once."

She scrunched her brow, causing more tears to fall. "Did it matter that much to you, Regulus? Was it worth it?" her voice was harsh and her words stung him.

He bit his lip, still staring at the floor. "You wouldn't understand."

She threw his arm forward and stood up. "Really! You don't think I would understand? Maybe I wouldn't want to understand! Why would anyone want to understand a Death Eater?! Did your parents' little 'that a boy' really mean that much to you?" she had raised her voice so it was almost a scream.

Regulus took a deep breath in and then exhaled slowly, placing his head into his hands. "Yes, it did mean that much to me. I have never wanted anything else in the world as much as I wanted my parents to accept me, to brag about me, to praise me. Yes, Aaralyn, I thought it was worth it." He paused and slowly raised his cold grey eyes and met her sky blue ones, "Please, Aaralyn, don't yell and sit down."

She gave a look of death but did not say anything and sat back down. Her small fingers reached for the clasp on her necklace and she undid it. She set it in the palm of her hand and they both sat silently, staring at the unopened heart-shaped locket. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and then revealed the contents of the heart. The two pictures of them, so happy, mocked Regulus. It felt like those photos were taken years ago, of a different Regulus, not of him. "How long did you know?" her voice was a low, hoarse whisper.

He shut his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "I knew ever since the summer that Sirius left," his tone was flowing with remorse.

Aaralyn slowly nodded her head, "Then why did you do this to me? You knew that I am Muggleborn. You found out the day we met!"

A small grin danced on his lips but it quickly vanished. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, so why bother?" Personally, he barely believed himself.

She stretched her arm towards him, her palm open, offering him the locket. "Here. Take it. It means nothing to me, not anymore."

The coldness in her voice made him shudder. "I don't want it. It was a gift, as was Linette, you can keep them both."

She retracted her arm and placed the necklace in the pocket of her jeans. "Keep the ring." She rose from her bench seat and headed towards the door. Her hand on the handle, she hesitated and said, "Goodbye, Regulus."

"Forever?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Forever," Aaralyn replied, finality filled her tone.

"I'm sorry, you know?" Regulus said, tears racing down his cheeks.

She shook her black hair and said "It is too late for apologizes." With that, she took one last look at him, slid the door open, and disappeared into the hallway.


	19. Part Nineteen: Could It Get Any Worse?

"Hey, Regulus, why weren't you at the feast?" called Aleron as he entered the dormitory. "I asked Aaralyn but she got all crabby and said that she didn't know."

Regulus groaned and quickly pushed the sleeve of his pajamas' over his arm before rising from his bed. "I don't know," he answered, slightly annoyed. "I guess I just wasn't hungry."

Aleron changed into his emerald green pajamas and then sat down on his bed. His golden hair has grown over the vacation, it was now reaching below his ears. "Oh, well how was your vacation? Did you and Aaralyn, umm, hangout?" a sly grin crossed his face as he questioned Regulus.

Regulus reclined back and yawned, "I was kind of sick most of it so I didn't have any crazy adventures."

He nodded and a grin reappeared on his porcelain face, "And what about you and Aaralyn? You skipped over that part..."

Regulus inhaled deeply, buying time to decide on what to say. He truly did not feel like discussing his breakup with Aaralyn at the moment. It had really hurt him and bringing it up made the fresh wound sting. "We..."he started but the words did not want to come out. "Well we...we aren't together anymore."

His best-friend's mouth fell open, "What? Why? When did this happen?" he asked quickly in a shocked tone. "That would, of course, explain Aaralyn's puffy eyes and crabbiness..."

Regulus cringed when he heard about her eyes being puffy from crying. He had not done it so she would be hurt, he broke up with her to prevent her from being hurt. Everything he had done lately had the opposite effect than what he had planned. "I don't know why I did it. I just broke up with her on the train."

Aleron raised his eyebrows and just looked at Regulus. "So you just _broke_ up with her? Out of the blue..."he asked in a skeptical tone.

Regulus suddenly became extremely interested in a loose thread on his comforter and did not reply.

The blonde strode over to the foot of his friend's bed and sat down, pushing Regulus' feet over to make room. "That's not what happened, right?" he questioned in a knowing voice.

Regulus' jaw tightened and he looked back down at the blanket on his bed. He stared at the green fabric for a few minutes while silence filled the room. After what seemed like ten minutes Aleron saw him shake his head no.

Regulus did not want to tell Aleron that he was a Death Eater. He had just lost his girlfriend and did not like the possibility of loosing his best-friend of five years. He wondered to himself what he should tell Aleron and how his friend would react to the truth. He shuddered to think that there was a chance that Aleron would react like Aaralyn and not want anything to do with him anymore. Regulus did not blame Aaralyn and he would not blame Aleron if he chose the same path that Aaralyn had. He brought this on himself and there would be nothing that he could do to change his decision, he was the Dark Lord's for life.

He swung his legs over to the floor and stood up, trying to decide between the truth or what he wanted to tell Aleron. He walked over to the small table that was situated across the room that held a glass pitcher of water and many small cups. Aleron followed him over and poured himself a drink, he stood, slightly awkwardly, waiting for Regulus to answer.

"So," he said slowly, "why did you end it with her? You seemed to really like her..."

Regulus didn't answer right away, he was still undecided. He raised his cup to his lips and took a long drink, draining it. He placed it down on the black table and opened his mouth to speak. "I really did like her, it was just..." he turned away from Aleron and faced the wall. The truth? Or a easy lie? He finally made up his mind. "Over Christmas break I did something beyond stupid-"

"Did you cheat on her?" Aleron cut in before Regulus could finish. "I'm sure she'd take you back, you guys just need to talk it over. Apologize to her or tell her you were being dumb, something like that. It works every time," he eagerly told his friend.

Regulus shook his head and ran a hand through his dark hair nervously. "I wish it was that easy," he said slowly. "Aleron...I don't know how to say this...but....I'm a Death Eater."

There was a quick silence, only lasting five seconds, and then Regulus felt himself fly towards the wall, hitting his head hard. A hand, belonging to his once best-friend, grabbed him and pulled him roughly to his feet, pinning him against the cold stone wall. "You worthless piece of -" a few choice words were uttered with pure hatred from Aleron's mouth. "I knew your family was whacked but I thought that maybe you would turn out like Sirius."

Regulus did not raise a hand or wand to defend himself, he did not want to hurt Aleron. He was taken aback by his former friend's reaction. He had imagined that Aleron would be disappointed and shocked but never violent. Aleron was not a violent person, not with people who didn't deserve it. Then it crossed his mind, he did deserve this, he was not an innocent victim, he had this coming to him. "Let me go, Aleron," he said trying to keep his voice steadily, despite the amount emotions that were flowing through him.

Aleron took his with both hands and threw him into the table. The pitcher shattered and cut Regulus' hands as he tried to break the fall. "It was f---ing Death Eaters like you that murdered my sister!"

**Please review! I love to hear what people think about my story or what they predict will happen. Any feedback (the good, the bad, and even the ugly) will make me happy. =)**


	20. Part Twenty: Bloody Hands&Soaked Robes

These words hit Regulus like daggers as he watched Aleron, furious, storm out of the dormitory. His hands were throbbing with pain so it did not surprise him to see that they had numerous shards of glass in them. Blood ran from his palms and mixed into the small puddle that he was sitting in, giving the water a red tinge. Regulus realized that he should go up to the Hospital Wing but he could not muster the energy to get up on his feet. His world was shattering and he did not know how much more of this his body and mind would be capable of dealing with.

Aleron had been his best-friend in the world ever since they had met on their first day at Hogwarts. They were two-of-a-kind, so similar, Regulus was not Regulus without Aleron and Aleron was not Aleron without Regulus. They were often compared to Sirius and his three close friends by their teachers and peers. Before, the only thing that made them different was their opposite hair colors, golden blond and the darkest black, and their eye colors, forest green opposed with cold grey. But now, something bigger than hair or eye color separated them, something that Regulus would never be able to change, something that Aleron would never be able to forgive.

He had not known that Aleron's sister was killed by Death Eaters. Aleron had rarely mentioned her, all he ever told Regulus was that he saw her die. Regulus did not even know her name. It made him sick to his stomach to think that he was apart of something that ruined Aleron's family. It then occurred to him that it was not just Aleron's family that had been ripped to shreds by the Death Eaters. There were countless others that had been victims of Voldemort's wrath, countless more in the future. He, himself, had engaged in such an act, try as he might to forget it. He was responsible for the murder of a young child who was sentenced to death just because her father refused to support Voldemort. He had not tortured her like his cousin had urged him to, but he did cast the Unforgivable Curse that took her life from her in front of hysterical parents. It was his first, and only, murder but he knew that it would not be his last, the Dark Lord had more in store for him over the summer. He expected Regulus to live up to his cousin's reputation of mindless torture and killings. But Regulus knew that he was nothing like Bellatrix, he cared too much, that young girl haunted his dreams every night. He was not capable of the grisly executions that Bellatrix happily carries out, or at least he hoped that he wasn't.

The pain in his hands became too much for him to ignore so he tenderly rose to his feet. He swayed slightly but was able to regain his balance and exit his dormitory, dripping wet with water and blood.

As he entered the common room people looked up, shocked looks claimed their faces as they saw him bleeding and dripping wet.

"Regulus, what's wrong?" called a few of them.

"Hey, what happened?"

"Why did Aleron run out of here like a madman?"

Regulus ignored the questions and quickly scanned the room for Aleron's recognizable blonde hair but he did not spot it. Not wanting to linger any longer, he barked "Open the damn door!" at a first year and made his way up to the Hospital Wing.

The walk to the fourth floor seemed to take ages. A handful of people yelled to him, curious about his bloody hands and soaked robes, but he payed them no attention. "It is none of their business," he muttered to himself. "They would just love to hear the real story but they won't hear it from me." He hoped against all odds that Aleron and Aaralyn would keep it to themselves that he was a Death Eater. He couldn't ask them though, he couldn't stand to face them, not now that they knew. He would just have to wish but he was not totally sure what they would do. If they told anyone the story would travel around the castle pretty fast and he would find out soon enough.

He finally reached the Hospital Wing and pushed the large door open his his shoulder. The rows of perfectly clean beds were empty on both sides. Madam Pomfrey came running out, her light brown hair in a tight bun and her usual stern look remained on her face. Her eyes scanned over him and then she moved to the side to take a look behind him, expecting Aleron to pop up. With the absence of Aleron she returned her attention to him. Seeing the blood covering his hands she jumped back into nurse mode. "Take a seat, right over there," she gestured to the bed closest to him.

He did as he was told and sat down on the white bed, splattering it with blood. He held out his hands, palms up, and waited for her to come over.

Madam Pomfrey conjured a wooden stool in front of the bed and came over. She slipped on her glasses and examined each hand. She nodded her head and took out her wand, tapping it once on each of his palms. "Was the glass from a jug that refills itself?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Ahh, yeah. It was in my dormitory," he replied.

She nodded her head again and muttered a spell while pointing her wand at his hand. She did this twice to each hand, the first time stopped the bleeding and the second made the gashes disappear. "You'll be a little sore for a few days but I think you should be all right to leave."

Regulus smiled and thanked her. He scurried out of the Hospital Wing before Madam Pomfrey changed her mind about allowing him to leave. Not paying attention, he ran straight into someone, causing them both to fall.

**I would really love if you guys left some reviews! I am curious about what people think of it...**


	21. Part Twenty One: You Know How It Is?

Regulus fell to the wooden floor, landing hard on his bottom. His hand flew up to his sore forehead and he let out a low moan. Moving his hand away from his face, he saw that the other person had also fell to the floor. She had long, wavy, red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Her face was painted with fine features and each cheek was slightly freckled. Her emerald eyes matched the green prefect badge that gleamed on her tight grey long-sleeved shirt. Regulus instantly recognized her as Vala Raine, a fellow Slytherin, in her sixth year.

"Sorry about that,"Regulus said to her as he rose to his feet. "I was trying to make a quick escape from Madame Pomfrey. You know how she is, if I didn't get out of there quick she would have made me stay three weeks." He reached down and offered her a hand up.

Vala laughed and grasped his hand. "It's okay," she said, once on her feet. "You're Regulus Black, right?" she asked, looking at him with a smile.

He grinned sheepishly and said, "Unfortunately."

She smiled. "Well I was just on my way to the library and I really hate going alone. Would you care to join me?" she asked, in a hopeful tone.

"Sure," he replied, running a hand through his thick dark hair.

As they headed in the direction of the library Regulus wondered why she was being so friendly to him. They had never spoken before and she had a reputation of being more or less stuck up. He could recall Aleron making a few comment about her the year before but, besides that, he did not really know anything about her.

"So," she said, breaking the silence, "how was your vacation?"

"It was as terrible as a vacation could get," he replied, not going into detail.

She smiled and responded, "That's too bad. I went to Germany to visit my family, nothing overly exciting."

He looked over at her. She was only slightly shorter than he was, making her pretty tall for a girl. She had a very thin build, giving her a body that most girls would envy and most guys would die to get their hands on.

"What are you looking at?" she questioned him, with a grin.

He quickly turned his head to face forward, his cheeks blushing furiously. It wasn't that he was checking her out, he was just curious to see if what Aleron said about the length of her legs was true... "I was just making sure your forehead didn't bruise," he quickly lied. "We hit heads pretty hard."

"Did it?" she asked, moving closer to him.

Regulus scanned her face for any sign of a bruise. "Nope," he concluded. "You look fine."

"Good," she said, smiling.

They finished the walk in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. The library was crowded with students trying to cram in their homework that they put off until the last minute. Regulus followed Vala into a low traffic part of the library, the Muggle section. The shelves here were filled with Muggle literature and books that were wrote by wizards about Muggles. Some of them were quite funny, Aaralyn once told him, since most of the things stated in them were far from the truth.

Regulus took a seat in an uncomfortable wooden chair across the table from Vala. The table was small and round with an uneven leg, causing it to wobble slightly. Vala pulled out a small pile of books from her black canvas bag and set them on the table.

"What are you studying?" questioned Regulus as he peered at the books.

She let out a low groan and said, "Ancient Runes. It is my worse subject, by far. My parents insist that I continue with it, for some reason unknown to me. I really couldn't care less about it, I just do it to keep my parents satisfied. You know how it is?"

"All too well," he murmured, mostly to himself.

Vala smiled at him and nodded her head. "Parents are never happy with what you want to do. It's always about what they want, at least it is with my parents. I would be perfectly happy studying Care Of Magical Creatures but they made me drop it and continue with Ancient Runes."

"Yeah, I understand what you're saying," Regulus told her. "I've done everything in my power to impress my parents or just make them proud of me but nothing ever works. They are so tied up in their job and their friends and their fancy parties to think twice about me. They just expect so much from me but they appreciate so little."

"How could they not be proud of the noble Regulus Black?" she asked in a half mocking voice. "You are a top notch Seeker, you're top in a handful of your classes, and last, but not least, you carry the haughty good looks that they Blacks are famous for."

Regulus felt his cheeks get a little hot and he rolled his eyes. "I wish it just took that much to impress them. They do not care about my mad Seeker skills and I have to deny the looks part."

Vala raised her eyebrows, "In case you haven't noticed, you are a spitting image of your older brother, who has broken almost every girl's heart here." She paused for a moment and then added, "Except mine, of course, because I don't go for Gryffindors."

"Well, Sirius...He's..Well, he's Sirius..........I'm nothing like him though," he told her sheepishly.

She nodded her head and grinned. "I guess that it is not a bad thing since your brother is constantly in detention." She looked around at the surronding shelves of books and asked him, "What do you think of Muggleborns?"

Regulus hesitated for a moment, wondering to himself why she asked him such a question. She probably expected him to dislike them, like most Slytherins do, but he was not going to lie to her. He was so sick and tired of lying. "I think that they have every right to do magic as long as they have the ability. How about you?"

"That is a very interesting answer coming from someone who is descended from one of the purest wizard families," she said thoughtfully. "Personally, I would never befriend a Muggleborn or date one and especially I would never marry one. I don't think it is a big deal that they are allowed her," she replied.

Regulus was a bit put off by her answer. She did not seem to hate Muggleborns but she would never become friends with one? It confused him a little and he was not totally sure if he liked Vala as a friend, but he reminded himself, that with his current friend situation, he should not be picky.

**I am desperately in need of reviews. It is just one click away so tell me what you think!!!! **


	22. Part Twenty Two: Fear

"Finally,"Regulus said to himself as he fell backwards onto his bed, "the weekend."

The first week back at Hogwarts had not been an overly pleasant experience for him. He was forced to sit alone in most of his classes since neither Aaralyn nor Aleron would say a word to him. On Monday, he started to eat his meals in the Kitchen after an extremely awkward breakfast at the Slytherin table. It did not bother Regulus too much since he had always had a soft spot for house elves, probably because Kreacher had raised him as a child.

He hung out in the library every evening at six with Vala to study or just talk. He felt like he could say almost anything to her without being judged and at the moment that was just what he needed. Although he disagreed with many of her opinions, he decided that she was a pretty good friend. Regulus had not yet told her about his Dark Mark but he had a feeling that she would not look at him any differently. He agreed with himself that if the subject came up about Death Eaters that he would not lie to her, he was done with lying.

* * *

His stomach growled loudly for what felt like the hundredth time that evening and it was getting harder to ignore. Regulus yawned loudly and pulled the green curtains open from around his bed. He always kept the curtains closed when he was in his dormitory, it had become his refuge. He was alone in the room, which made sense since most people were having dinner in the Great Hall at this time. He rose to his feet and started to head up to the Kitchens.

The corridors were all empty as he made his way to eat his supper alone. He liked it this way, he was so sick and tired of everyone asking questions about what happened with Aaralyn and him or why he wasn't hanging out with Aleron. It was none of their business and he wished that they would just leave him alone. That was another thing that he liked about Vala, she never asked him why he wasn't talking with Aleron anymore. Regulus was not ready to talk to anyone about it. He truly missed Aleron and Aaralyn more than he would of thought he could a few weeks ago.

Thinking of Aaralyn caused his fingers to automatically brush over the ring that was on his left hand. He tried to get rid of the ring that she had given him but he just couldn't, not yet. It killed him every time he looked down to see that it was transparent but, he always reminded himself, at least it is not black. He was sure as Hell that, if Aaralyn still wore her ring, it had to be as blue as it could get. He thought about her all of the time and he knew that nothing would change that.

By now he had arrived at his destination, a painting of fruit. To the ordinary wizard or witch, it would appear to be just another still-life, but to Regulus, it was the entrance way to the cavernous Kitchen. Sirius had told him about it in his first year but Regulus had never used it until recent times.

He extended his right arm to tickle the pear in the painting, the only way open it, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

Regulus, startled, quickly spun around to see who it was. He let out a sigh of relief to see that it was not a teacher but Remus Lupin. Remus was one of Sirius' closest friends. He looked as exhausted as Regulus felt, his face was pale and his eyes had small bags under them.

"Hey," Remus started. "Your brother, Sirius, is looking all over the castle for you. He told me that if I happened to see you, to tell you that he wants to meet you at the Lake around eight tonight."

A puzzled look crossed Regulus' face and was quickly replaced with fear, pure fear. "Uhhh," he stumbled. "Umm, do you know what he wants?" he questioned Remus, his voice full of desperation.

Lupin shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "No, sorry. He would not tell anyone. All he would say was that it was urgent."

"Okay, thanks," Regulus replied. Forgetting all about the meal that he had came up to the Kitchen for, he ran back in the direction of his dormitory.

**Sorry this part is so short. I was going to make it longer but I think that the next part would be better off as it's own chapter. I wanted to really thank the people who have favorited this story. It really means a lot to me. Now only if you guys could start leaving feedback.... :p**


	23. Part Twenty Three: You Left Me

It took Regulus only a few minutes to return to his dormitory. He threw himself down onto his bed, panting, and pulled the emerald curtains into their usual place. He was full of fear, fear of the possibility that Sirius might of found out about his Dark Mark. The only way that that could have happened was if either Aleron or Aaralyn told him. Regulus had been extremely careful to cover his forearms up by wearing long-sleeved shirts or sweatshirts, so there was no way that Sirius could have noticed it for himself. Regulus did not want to think that it was one of his once close friends but he could not think of a different explanation. Maybe Sirius didn't even know about his Mark, maybe his brother wanted to tell him that he was coming home... As much as Regulus would have loved to believe that Sirius was coming home, he knew better. He knew what this rendez-vous was about.

He pulled up his sleeve so he could check the time on his watch. 7:30. Where had the time went? Thirty minutes did not give him time to regain his composure and face his brother. Sirius would see right through Regulus' cover, anyway. He knew his younger brother like the back of his hand. As children, Sirius always knew when Regulus was upset or lying, nothing Regulus could do would fool him.

He rose to his feet and went to his trunk, searching for his heavy, green sweatshirt since it was snowing outside. He heard someone enter the dormitory and recognized the light, smooth footsteps as Aleron's. Regulus ignored him and pulled over the thick sweatshirt, having a difficult time navigating his arms through the sleeves.

Aleron chuckled and questioned sarcastically, "Having a hard time getting your filthy Marked arm through your sleeve? Too bad your master isn't here to assist you."

Regulus froze at the sound of Aleron's voice. It was the first time Aleron had spoken a word to him since the incident, but he wasn't in the mood to talk. "Leave me alone," he muttered after successfully putting on his pullover.

"What are you going to do if I don't?" Aleron mocked. "Kill me? I'd like to see you try."

Regulus didn't reply to him. He sat down on his bed, his back to Aleron, and started to put on his shoes. Aleron's words had stung him but he wouldn't give the blonde the satisfaction of knowing it.

"Where are you going?" Aleron asked, forgetting to make his voice hateful. Instead, for a second, Regulus thought that he heard concern.

"Why do you care?" Regulus shot back.

"I...I..." he stumbled, caught off guard. "I don't care. I just wanted to know so if anyone goes missing tonight, I'd know the animal that did it."

"Screw off," Regulus replied. "I have never done anything to you."

Aleron roared out with laughter. "You've never done anything to me? Are you blind? It isn't about what you have or haven't done to me. This is about what you are doing to others. You see, I'm not selfish, like you."

Though he would have loved more than anything to disagree with the statement, he knew that it was true. He was selfish, he was ruining lives so he could gain some acceptance from his parents. "Whatever," he muttered, blanking out on a clever comment. Pulling his hood over his head, he left the dormitory.

A gust of snow blew into his face as he opened one of the large front doors. "Leave it to Sirius to pick a night when there is a blizzard is going on," he muttered under his breath.

Regulus could barely see the faint outline of his brother, who was standing by the Lake, as he trudged through the knee-deep snow. His legs shook from a combination of cold and fear. He was afraid of what his brother would think of him. Regulus always valued Sirius' opinion above most others and if he thought that Regulus was trash, it would kill Regulus inside.

He reached the spot where his brother was, standing a few feet away, back turned to Regulus. The younger brother inhaled deeply and spoke. "Hey," he said, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could manage.

Sirius didn't turn around to look at his brother, he just remained staring at the Lake. "You didn't have to do it, you know?" His voice was soft, not angry like Regulus had imagined it would of been.

"Didn't have to do what?" Regulus asked, still hoping against all odds that they were thinking of different things.

"Don't play stupid with me. You know exactly what I'm referring to."

"What other choice did I have?" questioned Regulus, his voice took on an edge of desperation.

Still not facing his younger brother, Sirius laughed. It was not a nice laugh, not his usual bark-like one. This one was different, cold. "You had plenty of different choices, Reg, you know that! You still don't have to go through with this. Dumbledore can help you, he could keep you safe."

Regulus shook his head, "No, he couldn't help me. Not now, anyways." His voice was almost was shaky as his body was.

Sirius turned so he could see his kid brother. "Yeah, he could. It is not like you've killed anyone. You're still innocent, you won't get in trouble if you tell Dumbledore." He spoke in an urgent, concerned voice.

Regulus felt tears come on, he didn't care if he cried in front of his brother, it was not the first time. Looking down at his feet, feeling ashamed of himself, he said something quietly.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you," Sirius told him, taking a step closer.

He coughed from the tears entering his mouth. "But what if I have killed someone," he murmured.

Sirius stopped, he was at a lost for words. All he could do was look at the fifteen-year old boy in front of him, a mix of pity and anger filling him. "You disgust me," he told Regulus, his voice flowing with revulsion. He walked past his younger brother, hitting shoulders, and headed towards the light up castle.

Tears streamed down his cheeks and he dropped to his knees, not caring how cold the snow felt against his legs. "YOU'RE NOT PERFECT, EITHER!" he shouted at Sirius' back. "YOU LEFT ME! MAYBE NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU STAYED AND PROTECTED ME LIKE YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO! YOU LEFT ME! I WAS AFRAID, SIRIUS! AND NOW YOU ARE JUST GOING TO LEAVE ME AGAIN!" he gasped to catch his breath, choking again on his tears. "YOU CAN NOT JUDGE ME FOR WHAT I'VE DONE BECAUSE ALL YOU DO IS LEAVE! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND AND YOU WON'T LISTEN!" He watched as Sirius stopped in his tracks and hesitated, but he didn't turn back. He left Regulus, just like before. "ONE MORE THING!" he hollered at his brother.

Sirius stopped and waited.

"I HATE YOU!"

The elder brother stole a quick glance from behind him then turned to continue on his way. If he had been closer, Regulus would have been able to see the grief and pain that was etched on his usually carefree face, Regulus would have been able to see the flow of tears coming from his warm grey eyes. But Regulus wasn't able to see these emotions expressed from his brother. The youngest of the two brothers never found out what type of pain those three words cause his elder brother to suffer through.

Regulus was letting his emotions get the best of him but he didn't care, he was done with caring. Caring never got him anywhere. Every time he cared about someone, they just left him like some worthless item that did not matter. Aaralyn left him, Aleron left him, and Sirius left him twice, all when he needed them the most.

He knew who spilled his secret to Sirius and he was beyond angry with them. Regulus rose from the snow and walked in Sirius' steps back to the castle. When he entered the warm building, he did not go in the direction of the dungeons. As much as he wanted to change into dry clothes, he had to confront someone. The path to his destination came easily back to his memory even though it seemed like ages to him since he had last been up this way. The familiar surroundings made him miss what he had once had.

Regulus extended his arm towards the door and grasped the door knocker. After banging the knocker against the door twice, a clear voice rang out, "Is a goblet, that is holding half of the amount of contents that it is able to, half empty or half full?"

He didn't have time to think this question out, he needed to enter the room as soon as possible. Frustrated, he spit out, "It matters what mood the drinker is in!"

The clear voice answered, "Very interesting."

The door swung open and Regulus entered the airy room.

**I hope everyone likes the update. I wanted to thank everyone who is reading and keeping up with my story. I also wanted to thank _His Friend Helena _ for leaving a review. Please leave reviews, thank you so much!  
**


	24. Part Twenty Four: You're Not Alone

_You're not alone  
There is more to this, I know  
You can make it out  
You will live to tell_

_-Saosin_

The Ravenclaw Common Room was packed full of people, it was a Friday night so Regulus expected that. He scanned the room for the dark-haired girl that he needed to talk to but he didn't see her. He watched as people started to whisper to each other and point at him, he stood out like a sore thumb among all of the Ravenclaws. He was not exactly sure that he was allowed in this room but he really didn't care, he needed to speak with Aaralyn. Regulus looked around the room once more, getting ready to turn back, when he spotted her. Across the room, she was sitting alone in a navy blue loveseat, wearing a white tank-top with purple pajama pants, absorbed in a book. He approached her, people watching his every move, and set a hand on top of her book to get her attention. "We need to talk," he said, trying to keep his voice even.

Aaralyn's head snapped up at the sound of his voice, she seemed taken aback. She looked at him for a minute and then asked, "Why?"

"I think you know why."

She nodded her head and closed her book shut. "If you want to talk, then talk," she told him plainly.

He forced a smile and replied, "You know that I can't say anything in here. Can we go somewhere a bit more private?"

"Like where?" she questioned him.

"Outside the door would do, I suppose."

Aaralyn rose from her seat and set her book on a coffee table. She walked pass him and to the door. Regulus followed her close behind, watching her long black hair swing every time she took a step.

Outside of the Common Room, Aaralyn leaned up against the cold stone wall and crossed her arms. "So talk," she told him.

It was hard for Regulus to stay upset with her, even when she deserved it. It seemed like she had a spell over him and he didn't know how to break it. He took in a deep breath and asked, "Why did you tell Sirius?" He had decided that it had to be her that told because Aleron would never run to Sirius.

She looked him in the eyes and said, "I did it because I wanted to help you and I was pretty sure that you would not have listened to me. I knew how much Sirius meant to you and I thought that he would be the only one who had a chance to help you."

"It was none of your business, though. It isn't up to you to decide if I need help or not," he told her, slightly angry. Even if her intentions were good he still wished that she would have not said anything.

"Regulus, just because we are not together does not mean that I don't care about you. You're not a Death Eater, your heart is too kind to be one. You're better than that, Regulus, I know it. I just wish that you would realize it," she spoke to him softly.

"You wouldn't understand," he snapped at her.

She shook her head and said in the same tone as before, "That's what you keep saying but you don't want people to understand."

Regulus laughed coldly, a laugh that Aaralyn had never heard from him. "You don't know how it feels when you are never good enough for your parents. How would you like it if everything you ever did was always wrong or not enough in the eyes of your mother and father? Would you like that? This is the only thing that they have ever approved of me doing! I can't just throw it away."

Aaralyn's eyes began to get teary but she didn't cry. She reached forward and took both of his hands in hers. "You're right, I don't know how it feels to have parents like that. I would not even want to imagine that, it sounds awful. But Regulus, you can't let your parents run your life like that. Plenty of other people care about you, you need to understand that." She gave his hands and squeeze and continued, "Please listen to what Sirius said to you. You are so much better than what you've become. Go to Dumbledore, he'll help you."

He was surprised when she reached for his hands but he didn't pull away, he liked how warm her hands were compared to his cold ones. Regulus listened to her words but he couldn't go to Dumbledore, not now. He slowly shook his head and dropped Aaralyn's hands. "I can't," he whispered and turned away.

Aaralyn caught his wrist as he turned and pulled him gently back. She was crying now, his stomach plunged when he noticed it. He hated to see her cry. "Please, Regulus. We'll all be here for you. You're not alone, you know that, right?" she pleaded with him.

He shook his head again. "You see, that's where you are wrong. I am alone. I can't rely on you or Aleron or even Sirius because when I needed you guys the most, you all just left. How can I trust that you all won't just do that again?" Regulus pulled out her grasp and walked away.

**I want to thank **_misscutestuff _**for reviewing, favoriting, and adding my story to her story alerts. It really means a lot to me. I want to also thank **_His Friend Helena_** for the review.**

**I hope that everyone likes this chapter. I know it is kind of short but I kind of like how it turned out. Please tell me what you think!  
**


	25. Part Twenty Five: Shocked

The next couple of weeks seemed to be on fast-forward for Regulus. O.W.L prep took up a major portion each day, he had never studied so much in his whole time at school. When he wasn't in the library, he was either eating or sleeping. He still had his meals in the Kitchen, partly because he actually enjoyed being around the house-elves, partly because he was still not on speaking terms with Aleron, Aaralyn, and Sirius. Regulus had not uttered a single word to any of them since that terrible January night, and he had no plans to. He kept reminding himself, whenever he felt a strong urged to make up with one of them, that they left him. He was not the one who wanted things to be like this between them. Yes, he was the one who ended things with Aaralyn, but he had not wanted to stop being friends with her or talking to her.

His only friend now was Vala, but lately he was too busy with things to even spend time with her. Regulus still had not told her about his Mark, but he promised to himself that he would not lie to her if she asked. When they did see each other it was usually because they were studying together. She helped him prepare for his O.W.L.s since she had done them already the year before.

That was what was happening at the moment. It was a Thursday night in February and he had a huge essay due the next day for History of Magic, so Vala and Regulus were in the library. They had over ten books open and strewed around the table and the waste basket beside his chair was overflowing with pieces of parchment.

"There," Regulus said happily, smiling up at Vala. "I'm finally done, that essay was brutal." He passed her the long piece of parchment.

The red head accepted the parchment and began to proof read it for him. He watched her as she read and smiled again, to himself, when he noticed that not only did her emerald reading glasses match her eyes, they also matched her green long-sleeved shirt and her prefect's badge. She always matched, down to the last detail, he thought, at first, this was because she was self-conscious. After he hung out with her more, he saw for himself that she was extremely confident and could not care less about what others thought of her. Vala was a perfectionist who was in love with herself, and Regulus found it funny. He could completely understand why she really liked herself, you would have to be blind not to. But he also was beginning to see the real Vala, she was not just a pretty face, she was deep and intelligent. She was not afraid to tell someone off when they deserved it and she was not one to lie. Vala did not care if she hurt someone's feelings, many people disliked these about her but Regulus was impressed by it. He wished that he had half of her confidence, maybe if he did he would not have ended up Marked at the tender age of fifteen.

"This is great," she told him, breaking him from his thoughts. "I think you'll get at least an E, for sure."

"That's good because the last thing I need is another detention from Binns. Last time he made me stay until eleven on a Saturday night and I would rather not do that ever again."

Vala shot him a flawless smile and then a curious look crossed her face. "Do you have any plans for Saturday?" she asked.

This Saturday was Valentine's Day and, like always, there was a dance that night. Regulus had not planned on going, he wanted to get a head start on his homework instead of putting it off until Sunday. "No, I was just going to use the time to do homework. Do you have a better idea?"

"Well, there's the dance," she said, watching his face to see his expression.

Regulus shook his head and replied, "I went last year and it was packed with first years and there is nothing worse than that, in my opinion. Come to think of last year, Aleron and I went and we got kicked out for spiking the Pumpkin Juice with Veritaserum..." he smiled at the hilarious memory.

"That was you two?!" she exclaimed. She shook her head and grinned, "I heard some pretty interesting things that night. How did you guys get caught?"

"Well, it kind of backfired when Dumbledore asked everyone who put it in the drink, and Aleron, of course, had to try some, and ended up ratting ourselves out. It was worth it though."

"So anyways," Vala said, remembering what she had wanted to ask. "Will you be my date to the dance?"

This took Regulus by surprise and all he could manage to say was, "Of course."

She gave him a brilliant smile and rose from her seat, "Well, I better get going, I'm quite tired." Vala left a dumbfounded Regulus in his seat and exited the Library.

Regulus left his dormitory and went into the Slytherin Common Room to wait for Vala. It was Saturday, Valentine's Day, and as he promised, he was attending the dance with her. It was not an overly formal event so he wore a grey sweater with a white collared shirt underneath, an emerald tie, and black jeans. His dark hair fell perfectly over his cold grey eyes, contrasting with his pale skin. He took a seat on the black leather couch and played with the pink rose that he held in his hands as he waited.

"Regulus?" called a smooth voice that instantly put a grin on his face when it reached his ears.

He looked up from the rose and his eyes widened. In front of him stood Vala. She wore a short, strapless, emerald cocktail dress that ruffled from her waist down to her mid thighs. On her feet were flat silver slip-on shoes since she did not need the extra height that the high-heels would have given to her. Her red hair was left down in spiral curls that brushed her bare shoulders. Regulus got to his feet and handed her the rose with a wide smile. "You look stunning," he told her as she took the flower.

"As do you," Vala replied as her eyes swept over him. She offered him her hand and they made their way to the party.

The Valentine's Day dance was held in the Great Hall. Unlike Slughorn's Christmas party, everyone was invited to this. The room was decorated in reds, pinks, and whites, as were the foods and drinks. Each table had only two cushioned seats since the dance was for couples only. There were small clouds that hovered around the room, dropping pink heart-shaped confetti on everything. The dance floor was situated in the middle of the room and it was packed full of people with their dates.

Regulus had decided that he would ignore Aleron tonight. He knew that the blonde was attending the party with Fanchon and he would just have to try to keep his distance from the pair. It was not Aleron who he was afraid of seeing there, though. It was Aaralyn. Regulus could not stomach the mere thought of her dancing or holding hands with another guy, he did not know how he would handle it if he was to witness it. It was not his place anymore, he knew that, but it did not make the fact that he would have to fight off a strong urged to curse any guy that put a hand on her any easier. He couldn't, and wouldn't, deny that he still had strong feelings for her but he also couldn't deny that their relationship would never be able to work. He was a Death Eater and she was a Muggleborn.

He felt his hand being gently squeezed and was brought out of his thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Vala asked him. "You zoned out for a moment."

"Yeah," he told her, "I'm fine. Are you hungry or do you want to dance?"

"I'd really like to dance," she replied with a smile. Vala led him to the dance floor and they pushed their way through the thick crowd of people. Once they found a spot, Vala stopped and wrapped her arms around his neck. He carefully placed his hands on her slim waist and they started to sway to a slow song.

They stayed dancing for a handful of songs, most of which were slow since it was Valentine's Day and everyone loved to be all mushy gushy. After dancing to her favorite song, Vala told Regulus that she was thirsty so, hand-in-hand, they walked from the dance floor over to the food bar.

There were approximately ten tables, each covered with overflowing platters of food. All of the food was magically colored red or pink, making the meatballs look quite interesting. Regulus and Vala went pass the tables of food ans stopped at the drink table. The choices of drinks were not as plentiful but they had Butterbeer, so Regulus was content.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked Vala was he reached for a pink bottle of Butterbeer. "I would probably skip on the pumpkin juice, just in case. It seems to be on Aleron's list of favorite things to spike." he added with a laugh.

"Oh, don't blame it all on poor Aleron, you're not as innocent as you act," she said with a grin.

Regulus laughed, his true bark-like laugh, "Awww you caught me."

Vala smiled and then placed a manicured finger to her lips while she gazed at all of the different drinks. "The pink coco looks good," she decided.

After Regulus poured her a mug of hot chocolate, they went to find an empty table. They dodged through the maze of love-struck couples until they found a table the was unoccupied. He set down their drinks and then pulled out a chair for Vala to sit in.

"You appear to be quite the gentleman," she commented with a smirk as she took her seat.

"Well, I try," he said with a warm smile. He undid the bottle cap on his Butterbeer and took a sip. Looking to Vala's right to see who came with who, he witnessed a scene that caused him to choke on his drink.

**I had a picture of what Vala's dress looked like but I can't get the link to work on here. If you want to see it just pm me or something.**

**I want to thank everyone who has kept reading my story and I wanted to give an EXTRA thanks to those who took the time to review it. It really does mean a lot to me. This chapter is not my favorite by far, it was probably the second hardest for me to write, the first being the chapter Regulus got Marked in. I'm still not happy with that chapter but oh well. Tell me how you like it.**

**This might be interesting but, who do you like better, Vala or Aaralyn? I know it is a little early to ask this cause you guys just met Vala but I thought I'd ask.  
**


	26. Part TwentySix: Valentine

Regulus coughed violently, trying to bring up the Butterbeer on which he had choked. Unfortunately, this brought attention to him; people from surrounding tables turned and stared at him, their eyebrows raised. Coughing twice more, he was finally able to breath again. His hand went automatically for his wand in his pocket but he stopped himself from bringing it out. He could not believe what he was seeing; the sight made him angry, jealous, and sad all at the same time. He had to get out of there before he did something stupid; he did not need another coffin resting on his conscience. Regulus pulled his hand away from his wand and stood up quickly. "I've got to go," he told Vala in hurry, his pale cheeks taking on a red tinge from anger.

"What?" she asked him, looking confused. "Why? Regulus, where are you going?" she called after him.

Regulus left her questions unanswered and exited the Great Hall. He knew that this was bound to happen, but with him? He had never expected this. He forced the thought of them out of his raging mind until he arrived at his dormitory; there, he unleashed his fury.

He did not care what he broke, his hands just shot out for everything. The glass of water that was perched on his night stand was now shattered across the room, his books littered the floor, his curtains were torn to the floor. He stopped though, after he kicked his bedpost and injured his foot; causing him to shout out a string of profanities.

He threw himself down onto his bed and placed his head in his hands, trying to calm down. It was not very effective, though; the picture of them together just kept flashing before his grey eyes.

Had Aaralyn just gone with him to try and make Regulus mad? To see what kind of reaction she could get out of him? When he had first seen them, he thought that maybe his eyes were deceiving him, but sure enough, when he blinked they were still sitting in front of him. At the table to Vala's right sat Aaralyn and Remus. Out of all of Sirius' friends, Remus was the only one that he was able to stand- not now, though. Now Regulus hated him with every ounce of hatred that he could possibly muster. Were they dating? Regulus was not sure but it seemed to him that they were getting pretty cozy at the table. It had taken him every last bit of self-control not to curse Lupin on the spot, make him feel the pain that Regulus felt. He knew that that would not have made Aaralyn very happy but at least he would have felt better.

Why was he so jealous? Aaralyn was not his girlfriend anymore and it was his fault that they broke up. He went there with Vala and he did not see Aaralyn reacting like he did; she did not seem to be fazed at all. Why had he acted like that? Then the answer hit him like a brick; the same answer to the question the Aaralyn had asked him on the train and he told her that she wouldn't have believed him. He utterly despised that answer but he knew it was true.

The sound of soft foot steps caused Regulus to break from his thoughts and look up. In the doorway stood Vala, still in her dress, looking at him in a confused manner. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but she decided against it and just entered the room. After dodging the puddle of water on the floor, she took a seat on his bed, beside him. Placing one of her hands over his, she asked him, "What is wrong Regulus?"

He smiled, a pained smile, and said to her, "Everything."

"Would you like to tell someone about it?" she questioned him, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb.

"It is a long story- are you sure that you want to listen?" he replied to her question.

"I'm sure," Vala told him.

He took a deep breath in and began his story, "My brother and I, we used to be as close as two people could possibly be. I looked up to him and he looked out for me. He would comfort me when I was afraid or hurt, which was a hell of a lot more than my mother or father ever did. When he left for Hogwarts, he told me that nothing would change, that he would write to me everyday. He told me that when I went to school we would still be the best of friends; I was naïve enough to believe him. It did not happen though, he was sorted into Gryffindor and made new friends, better friends. When he came home that summer, he was different, he did not want to hangout with me. All he wanted was to go to Potter's or Lupin's or Pettigrew's house. When I went to Hogwarts and was sorted into Slytherin, he told me that it did not matter, we were still brothers and nothing would ever come between that. Again, I was naïve enough to believe him. After a while though, we stopped talking almost altogether, we had nothing in common to talk about. When we did talk, it became awkward and forced, but I did not want to believe that we were growing apart; I would not believe it. I still thought of him as a hero, I still thought that he would always be there if I needed him. Then, last year, he left and went to live with that James Potter and his family. I begged and pleaded with him not to go, or at least, not to leave me. He would not stay and he would not bring me. My parents began to tell me how I better not be another disappointment, how I better not be like Sirius. All I ever wanted was to make them proud to be my mother and father and then, when I was fourteen, they told me how I could live up to my last name. I was so desperate, I did not care what they asked, I would do it willingly. So December, on Christmas break, I became a Death Eater, just like they asked me to. Now, I've lost my best friend, my girlfriend, and my brother all because I needed to be accepted by my parents. The part I hate the most is that I have no one to blame except for myself, I ruined my life and now I just have to live with the consequences."

Vala did not say anything for a few minutes after he finished. She just sat silent, looking at the boy beside her with eyes full of pity. When she did speak, her voice was little more than a whisper: "Can I see your Mark?"

Although he was a bit puzzled by her request, he did not refuse. He moved his hand out from under hers and held his arm across her lap.

She pushed the sleeve to his grey sweater up his arm and exposed his Dark Mark. The bruising was now gone and the Mark stood out boldly against his pale skin. Vala raised a single finger and began to trace the outline of the skull and then the snake. Regulus looked over at her and said, "Most people are repulsed by it. It does not bother you?"

"No," Vala replied simply, her voice back to its normal tone. "I'm actually slightly intrigued by it. This means you have met You-Know-Who?"

Regulus nodded his head and said, "Yes, but only once, when he Marked me."

"Did it hurt?" she asked, curiously. "Being Marked, I mean."

"It was one of the worst things that I have ever experienced in my life, the pain was unbelievable." he told her, shuddering at the memory.

"You went through all of that just to make your parents proud of you? You don't believe in what You-Know-Who is all about?" she questioned, her finger still tracing the symbol on his forearm.

He answered her, "Yeah, I did it all for my mother and father, they love the idea of Pureblood supremacy. They are not Death Eaters but they are all for You-Know-Who and believe that it is an honor to have a Death Eater for a son. Like I told you before, I think Muggleborns should have the same rights as any Pureblood. I still stand by that, despite what I have done."

Vala smiled at him and stopped tracing his Mark. "What is it that you have done?" she questioned him. "You look so innocent, like you would never harm a fly."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess I am not as innocent as I appear."

"You didn't answer my question," she said, pushing his shoulder playfully. "What have you done to be a bad person?"

Regulus had not planned on telling her this; he was just sick and tired of keeping secrets. He would throw it all out in the open and if she still wanted to be his friend, then that was great. If not, then he was getting use to people leaving anyway. "I've killed someone," he told her, watching for a change in her expression.

Vala did not say anything. She did not look shocked or angry, which confused him.

"Well what are you waiting for? Aren't you going to leave?" he asked her, a little mad. He expected her to do what everyone else did, just leave him when he needed them the most.

"Why would I do that?" she asked him, meeting his cold, grey eyes.

"That's what everyone else seems to like to do. I was just expecting you to do it, too," Regulus told her quietly, embarrassed for getting upset.

"Well Regulus, I am not like everyone else. I would not just leave you like that- who am I to judge you?" she told him. She moved her hand so that she could hold onto one of his hands.

Regulus smiled, he was surprised but happy with what she had just told him. Maybe Aaralyn was right; maybe he wasn't alone. Though, Aaralyn had not been referring to Vala….

"I better get going," Vala said, moving her hand from his and turning to put her feet onto the wooden floor. "I had a good time even though you ran out on me," she added with a grin.

"Wait," he said, reaching out for her hand to stop her from leaving. "Can I ask you something?"

She turned back, her brilliant green eyes locking with his ice-cold grey ones, "Yes?"

Regulus smiled slightly and asked sheepishly, "Will you be my Valentine?" He expected to be turned down but it was worth a shot. They were just friends, nothing more, nothing less.

Vala returned the smile and then bit her lip, thinking his question over. "Of course," she replied, leaning forward and kissing his cheek. "Sweet dreams, Valentine," She stepped onto the floor and walked to the door, pausing to turn back and smile.

"Goodnight, my Valentine," he said back to her, grinning to himself happily.

**I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter! Who would have thought that it was Remus? **

**I want to thank everyone who has reviewed or added this story to their favorites/alerts, it really means a lot to me! I also wanted to thank Mew-Tsubaki for betaing this!  
**


	27. Part Twenty Seven: Decisions

"_The crumbling difference between wrong and right."_

_-Counting Crows, "Round Here"_

It was a cool, rainy, April evening. Regulus had not seen the sunshine in weeks because he was too busy to take notice of it. On top of everything that he was trying to deal with -O.W.L.s, Vala, and trying to sort out his feelings for Aaralyn -the Dark Lord had let the rest of the Death Eaters know that he was the newest follower. Naturally, his fellow Death Eaters had sent owls to their children and let them know that Regulus Black was someone to look up to -that he was not like his blood traitor of an elder brother. Now Regulus had to deal with a bunch of kids, younger and older, asking him things like what it was like to have a Dark Mark and how it felt to be a subject of the Dark Lord. There were a handful of people at Hogwarts who had already been Marked, all of them older than him, and now they wanted him to join their meetings.

Regulus did not want this attention -he just wanted to be left alone. He was not proud of the symbol that was permanently etched on his skin and he did not want to discuss it. The last thing that he wanted was for the kids who were younger than him to think that it was a glorious thing. He did not want them to end up like him; all of them had so much potential and it would all go to waste if they chose the same path as he did. Regulus would ignore their questions but it didn't stop them. They still cornered him at every chance they got.

As for the meetings, he did not have much of a choice but to go. It was something that Voldemort had ordered them all to do. They had never discussed anything too serious until four nights ago. Avery, the leader of the group, decided that he wanted to plan an attack on a Muggleborn, blood traitor, or someone who associated with one. The catch was that not all of them had to do it. Avery, who was still bitter about his broken jaw, said that it was the perfect opportunity for Regulus to prove himself a true Death Eater.

Regulus had tried desperately to talk them out of it but he could not really say too much or they would report him to their master. After a few days of being pestered, he finally gave in -but on two conditions: one, he could pick the person himself and two, he did not have to attack to kill. The rest of the group were content with these terms and told him to make his choice by their Friday meeting.

"Have you made your decision yet?" Vala asked him. They were sitting together on his bed, studying. He had decided to tell her about the meetings since she seemed very interested in this whole mess. He needed someone to talk to and she was more than happy to listen.

Regulus looked up from the Defense Against the Dark Arts book that he was skimming through and shook his head. "Not yet."

"Regulus, you need to decide. It is Friday, you know? I still think you should go with my suggestion." She shot him a smile and her green eyes glowed.

"I already told you no. I'm not going to attack him just because he is going out with Aaralyn." The word had gotten out that Remus and Aaralyn were dating. Regulus' heart broke all over again when he had heard the news. He wanted to tear Lupin apart, limb from limb, but he didn't out of respect for Aaralyn.

"He took your girlfriend. I think that gives you a pretty good reason to plan a little attack on him, don't you? I mean, you obviously still care about her since you cried on my shoulder for hours when you found out." Vala said the last sentence with a hint of jealousy.

It was true. He had run straight to the only person that he could consider a friend and cried like a little baby for hours and hours. He wished that Vala would quit reminding him about it, though; it was not like it was something of which he was very proud." "I just don't want to attack him, okay?"

"Then how about Sirius?" she asked him, watching for his reaction.

He looked back up at her, a shocked look on his face. "Why the hell would you think that I would want to attack my own brother? Are you crazy?" He really could not stand the girl sometimes.

She shot him a look of innocence, like she had meant no harm by that suggestion. "I thought that you might be interested because you have so much built up hate for him. I mean, he did leave you countless times, pick his friends over you, and also never listened to you. I just thought that you might like the idea."

"Well, I don't," he told her harshly.

"Regulus, you only have a few more minutes to make your choice. Pick someone," Vala said, after checking the time on his wrist watch.

"Fine," he replied, moodily. "I have made up my mind."

**Who is the unlucky person that Reggie has chosen??? Don't forget to review!**

**Thanks Mew for giving me some ideas 'cause I was pretty stuck!  
**


	28. Part Twenty Eight: Unforgivable Curse

"_Monsters are real, and ghosts are real, too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."_

_-Stephen King_

His conscience screamed and pleaded with him, telling him not to do this, to turn away but he ignored it. He did not have a choice in the matter -it was either follow the orders or suffer the consequences. He wasn't brave enough to face the consequences -his heart knew right from wrong but it wasn't courageous enough to take the right path.

As he searched the corridors alone, he hoped that he wouldn't find who he was looking for. He knew nothing good was going to come from his actions. If he didn't attempt to find his victim, Avery would severely punish him -so there he was.

Regulus froze as the sound of footsteps reached his ears and he took a few slow steps backwards to gain cover behind a wall. He waited until the steps sounded closer and he took a peak around the wall.

His heart plummeted as the identity of the person registered in his mind. Regulus swore under his breath at his luck -there his selected person was, unaware and alone. He took a deep breath in as he forced himself to remember his hatred towards this person.

"Crucio!" he shouted as he stepped out quickly from behind the wall. The degree of his anger and hate strengthened his curse and knocked Remus off his feet. Lupin screamed in pure agony and shook on the floor, making Regulus sick to his stomach. He tried to focus, to keep his hatred fresh in his mind, but he got startled when he heard more foot steps coming this way. Regulus spun quickly around, trying to see who was running towards him, breaking the connection and freeing Remus from his misery that the spell had caused. He glanced at both ends of the corridor and was unable to see anyone, despite the patter of rapidly approaching footsteps. Suddenly, a set of hands appeared and connected with chest, throwing him forcefully into the stone wall. His head crashed roughly against the interior, causing stars to flash in front of him.

"STOP! SIRIUS!" called a voice.

Regulus felt a sharp blow to his stomach as his vision cleared, knocking the air out of him. He shook his head and looked up, confused, to see his brother standing over him, shaking with anger. Sirius leap forward and hit him with great force in the face, repeatedly. Regulus tried to fight back but he was so caught off guard, his attempts were useless.

After receiving a few more well-placed punches to the face, he managed to throw his brother off him. Sirius got quickly back to his feet and went to run at him again when another boy appeared out of nowhere, throwing a silvery cloak to the side. The other boy, whom he recognized as Potter, hurried towards Sirius and grabbed him around the middle, shouting, "SIRIUS! STOP! THAT'S YOUR BROTHER!"

Sirius struggled to be freed from his friend's grasp but he was unsuccessful. "JAMES!" he yelled loudly. "DIDN'T YOU SEE WHAT HE DID?! HE USED AN UNFORGIVABLE CURSE! HE FUCKING USED IT ON MOONY!"

Regulus watched, frozen to the floor with horror as James struggled to contain his elder brother from coming back at him. "Yeah, Padfoot, I saw it," he said, trying to calm his best friend. "Regulus is your brother, Sirius. You could have killed him the way you were bashing his head everywhere."

Sirius threw Regulus a look of pure hatred and bellowed, "THAT DEATH EATER IS NO BROTHER OF MINE! I FUCKING HATE HIM! I'D KILL HIM -JUST LET ME GO!"

Regulus scrambled to his feet and ran from the scene. His body ached all over but it was his heart that hurt the worst. He knew that this wasn't over -it had just started. What the hell had he done?

**I feel like a big bad meany for doing this to Reggie. Everyone, feel free to give him a give hug 'cause I think he could use a few right now! Don't forget to review.**

**Thanks mew! Sorry about not giving Remus a chance but he would have siriusly kicked Reggie's butt!  
**


	29. Part Twenty Nine: The Truth

_"The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is."_

_-Winston Chruchill  
_

He hurried to his last O.W.L exam of the year, History of Magic. He did not have time to think about how much he despised the subject because he had to focus all of his attention on making it to the test room. He had started some sort of war between the Marauders and the Death Eaters on that night in April. Most of it was Sirius attacking the Death Eaters –his favorite victim being his younger brother. The Death Eaters did their fair share of attacks, too, but they were not picky about which Marauder they got. Soon enough, all of the Marauders joined in on the war. Regulus had to be extremely vigilant while in the corridors since he was the four's usual victim –it was as if they forgot all about Snape.

He let out a breath of relief as he scrambled into the testing room –he had now been able to avoid being ambushed for the past three days. Now, he had a just as big problem on his mind –how the hell was he suppose to get at least an A in this bloody subject?

* * *

Regulus sighed in contentment as he stretched out in the grass beside Vala. She looked over at him and smiled, taking his hand in hers. He was pretty sure that he had been able to get a passing grade in his last O.W.L. and now he was relaxing in the summer sun. He shut his cold grey eyes and let the sun warm his face as he listened, amused, to Roiser and Avery bickering about at whom Slytherin girl had winked. Regulus yawned loudly and drifted into a light sleep.

"Hey, look who it is. Little Miss Mudblood! What are you doing here?" jeered Avery.

This remark woke him from his short nap. his eyes fluttered open to see to whom his fellow Slytherin was talking.

Regulus' eyes widened in shock as they met a pair of once familiar, strikingly blue eyes. He brought his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes vigorously, thinking that this must be a dream. When he removed his hands he saw that Aaralyn still stood above him. He looked up at her, dumbfounded.

"I asked what you are doing here!" sneered Avery once again.

Aaralyn simply ignored Avery's rude remarks and, looking directly at Regulus, said, "I need to talk to you, Regulus. Now."

He tried to read her face for any sign of emotion but he was unable to find one. As he pushed himself up from the ground, he felt Vala's arm snake around his chest, holding him in place. "Why do you need to talk to him?" Vala inquired, in a tone that was anything but friendly. Regulus actually picked up on a hint of jealously that he always heard when she talked about Aaralyn.

The dark-haired Ravenclaw raised her eyebrows slightly at the redhead and replied cooly, "I don't remember asking to speak with you –I'm more than sure that I said 'Regulus'."

Vala looked taken a back but swiftly spat out, "Aww, the Mudblood has an attitude. Cute."

Regulus pried Vala's arm off him and said, "That was uncalled for, Vala." He rose to his feet and followed behind Aaralyn, knowing that he probably did not want to actually hear whatever she had to say.

She headed over towards the small bench that flooded his brain with memories of snow angels and happiness. He grimanced as he forced these memories from his mind –they caused him too much pain to recall. Aaralyn took a seat on the bench and patted the opposite side for him to sit. He complied and joined her.

Aaralyn looked at him, her sky blue eyes not leaving his face. "Why did you attack Remus?"

Regulus took in a deep breath in –this was not what he really felt like discussing with her. "You're a little late in asking –I mean, that happened about a month ago…"

She pushed her long, black hair behind her shoulder and sighed. "Yeah, I know. Remus only just told me why this little war between the Marauders and the-" she paused and looked over at him, " –and the Death Eaters started. He said something about you using an Unforgivable Curse on him… Why? Why did you do that, Regulus?"

He felt his heart clench when she spoke his name with such obvious disappointment. "I had to pick someone," he told her, trying not to outright lie.

"So you just happened to pick my boyfriend?" she questioned, skeptically.

Regulus winced when he heard her refer to Remus as her boyfriend. "I guess so."

"Do not lie to me –I just want to know the truth."

"I told you the truth," Regulus snapped, avoiding her eyes.

Aaralyn shook her head in irritation. "I'm not stupid, you know? I can tell when you're lying. Why is it so difficult for you to tell me the truth?"

He huffed loudly –he was getting pretty sick of this conversation. "I don't see how it is any of your business…"

She cast him a look of anger but she bit her tongue before answering. "I want, no, I need to know because I'm sick and tired of you guys cursing each other everytime you get the opportunity –someone is going to get hurt. Sirius is your brother and you two shouldn't hate each other! I want to help you guys get along again."

"Well I don't think that you helped with that problem. I mean, you were the one who told him that I was a Death Eater –I don't think that that overly helped with our issues. Anyways, I'm not the one that hates him –he hates me."

"Regulus, can't you just let that go?" she asked him, annoyed. "I was trying to help you –you already know that! Sorry for caring about you!" Her voice rose as she went on. "Just tell me why you attacked him and I'll leave you alone!"

Regulus got swiftly on his feet and shouted at her, "You want to know why? I'll tell you! I did it because I… I… Just leave me alone!" And with that, he turned and stalked off in the direction of the castle.

**Oooo, what was Reggie going say to her??? Don't forget to review!**

**Thanks Mew for betaing! I know I said that I hated cliffhangers but I couldn't help but use one for this!  
**


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